1001 Nights
by Runandra
Summary: Kurapika claimed that Kuroro Lucifer was his archenemy, but lo and behold, here he was travelling with that man because of some stupid mistakes they did in a rush of moment. Other genres in later chapter. Extra: Half Empty Glass. Sequel: Angel's Prayer.
1. Chapter 1: The Genie

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter_

_**Introduction**__: Kurapika had a question. Should he feel unfortunate, for losing the only Scarlet Eyes that he thought he had retrieved, and knowing that Kuroro Lucifer; his nemesis, had finally broken free from his Chain of Judgement? Or should he feel fortunate that he actually bumped into him in his task to retrieve some ancient relic? One thing for sure: the appearance of a genie definitely spelled D-O-O-M._

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**Chapter 1**

**_THE GENIE_**

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**__**

His head throbbed as if his skull would split into two anytime. A thick layer of dusts obscured his vision, and some of them had gotten into his mouth, forcing him into a fit of coughing. He waved his hand around the cloud of dusts, trying to clear them. He was not supposed to be leisurely waving away the dusts. He was supposed to be doing his assigned task by his idiotic boss, who had his eyes fixed on a certain ancient relic. He was supposed to retrieve the relic from the ruin, and yet there he was, sitting in a God-forsaken underground floor of the forgotten ruin.

Kurapika shook his head vigorously, trying to get some of the dusts and debris off his blond hair. He tried to remember the chain of events that had been taking place. Ok, so his boss had gone desperate. Neon Nostrad, his so-called gold mine, had lost her ability and so his steady income had gone down the drain. He needed to pay for mountains of debts; which Kurapika himself had not the slightest idea on how he managed to accumulate such ridiculous sum of debts, but Nostrad did not have the money. Apparently, he came across a dusty archive which stated that there was a certain enchanted relic that could grant wishes of the owner. Thinking that he might be able to clear his debts and climbed up the social hierarchy once again once he possessed the magical relic, Nostrad set his eyes on the lamp and sent his best men; Kurapika included as one, to get the relic.

Unfortunately, Kurapika's luck had been running thin lately. Not only the Scarlet Eyes had disappeared from Nostrad's possession, he recently felt that the Restrictions he had placed upon Kuroro Lucifer, his mortal enemy, had been lifted. So technically, the head of the Spiders was out there, roaming freely with his Nen liberated. Instead of hunting him down, he was given the menial tasks of retrieving some relic. However, in the end Kurapika found himself wondering whether he should have counted himself as extremely lucky or unlucky. While begrudgingly trying to get his hands on the relic, he came across the unlikeliest group in his mind that he would ever bump into in such a deserted place; the Genei Ryodan itself. Complete with the head.

"So much for my luck." He muttered with a huff.

So, to cut long story short, they fought. A duel, one-on-one between him and Kuroro Lucifer. In the process, the ruin itself was half destroyed as the two were immersed in their duel, the floor collapsed beneath them, and they were swallowed into the underground cave of the ruin. So here he was, in the damp darkness. Kuroro should be near, so he could not afford to lower his guard.

Sure enough, he sensed movement to his left. The next second, Kuroro and Kurapika were already engaged in a furious deadlock; Kuroro holding a dagger aimed to his face, while Kurapika wrapped his chain around his wrist, trying to hold the dagger away from his face.

"You bastard…" He managed with a strain voice while shooting the man looming over him with a glare that could have killed a man, if looks could kill.

His eyes glowed eerily in the darkness of the tunnel, like a glowing ember. Kuroro peered into his eyes, taking in all the negative emotions; the hatred, the resentment, everything, with cold face. Looking into those scarlet eyes, he could not help but to smile. He had suspected that the Kuruta boy's eyes were the brightest among all that he had ever seen, and he was right. Enraged by his smile; which seemed twisted and wrong in his mind, Kurapika's eyes glowed even redder out of anger. Energy pulsed around him, and he began to push Kuroro, until they were of the same eye level.

"Oh?" Kuroro raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by his small feat of pushing him.

After some seemingly interminable seconds, they broke away. However, strange things never ceased to happen. As Kuroro jumped away from him, he felt a strong tug to his left wrist. All of the sudden, Kuroro stopped halfway in his jump as if someone had pulled his right wrist forward, while Kurapika was jerked forward as well.

Kuroro blinked in surprise, Kurapika frowned in confusion. They looked at each other, both noticing the strange phenomenon that happened just a fraction of second ago. Slowly, they both straightened while keeping a wary eye at each other. Kurapika raised his left arm and pulled. At the same time, Kuroro's right hand was jerked forward towards his direction.

Kurapika felt butterflies in his stomach and gulped hard. Whatever it was, it was not going to be a pleasant thing. Kuroro himself looked troubled. He used Gyo and looked at his wrist, and Kurapika saw his already big eyes widened ever so slightly. Imitating his gesture, Kurapika used Gyo and inspected his wrist.

"For the love of—" He could literally feel his blood freezing in his veins and the colour leaving his face. A manacle was clung around his left wrist, and much to his dismay, the other end was connected to Kuroro Lucifer's right wrist.

"What is happening here?" The older man voiced his thought out loud.

As if to answer his question, a blue light flickered in the darkness and hovered eerily around them. Kurapika had to narrow his eyes to get a better look at the ball of light. Apparently, after further observation, it was not a ball of light. It was a very small boy, the size of a grown man's open palm, encompassed in blue light. The boy itself had blue skin, with oversized, round, beady eyes. He looked at them with curious eyes, coupled with the mischievous glint.

_Teehee…I'm so lucky. The first thing I found when I woke up from my deep slumber was the unlikeliest pair._ He giggled with his ghastly voice. _Now let's see how things will go._

"Wait a minute." Kurapika frowned. "Is this…" He lifted his manacled hand and pointed at it. "…your doing?"

_Who else? Who else? Only I, the Great Genie Hassamunnin, can do such thing. Hehehehe…_ The genie continued giggling. He floated around them, looking at them with calculating eyes. "_I see you hate him with all your heart. That won't do, that won't do._"

The genie shook his head with mock sadness, and then with a snap of his tiny blue fingers, something really unpleasant happened. The chain of the manacle suddenly shrunk, dragging Kurapika and Kuroro forward towards each other. The chain had shortened considerably that they almost bumped each other's head. Kurapika looked up, and to his chagrin, Kuroro's face was just a metre away from his. He glared at him hatefully, but Kuroro just gave him an annoyed look. He turned to face the floating genie.

"Hassamunnin? Would you be so kind as to release this manacle from me?" He politely asked. Kurapika snorted in disdain with his use of polite manner. Kuroro ignored him.

_No no no. I can't do that. I won't do that. I don't want to do that._ The genie replied with amused voice, which echoed in the underground cave.

"Nothing will change your mind?" Kuroro asked again, his tone even.

_Nothing, nothing._ The boy sang his annoying song while continued hovering above them.

"What are the conditions to release the bind, then?" He asked again. Kurapika gave him a questioning look. He had no idea on what Kuroro was talking about.

_Oooh, the long awaited question. That, I will tell you. Listen well, humans._ The genie lowered himself to their eye levels and cleared his throat. _First, you cannot forcefully release the bind. Nothing can break it or lift it, except me. But I am not going to do that, so don't count on it. Second, the chain binds your life to each other. If one dies, so does the other one._

Kurapika groaned loudly with exasperation at this, but the genie ignored him. Kuroro shifted uneasily in his position. Hassamunnin continued then.

_Third, you cannot liberate yourself from the bind by cutting off your arm. The bind will protect your arms. Fourth, the chain represents how close the two of you to each other is._

"WHAT?" Kurapika did not bother to rein himself this time.

_The closer you are to each other,_ Again, the genie ignored Kurapika's yell of indignation. _The more flexible the bind will be._

"So if we don't hate each other anymore, the bind will disappear?" Kuroro asked to clarify with dry amusement.

_No no, it's not that easy. It won't be fun that way._ The genie grinned evilly at him. _It requires more than that to make the bind disappear. Much much more. Much much more._ With that, Hassamunnin floated up, performed a stunt in the air, and then poof! He disappeared in a thin blue cloud.

Suddenly, a pin-drop silence engulfed the darkness. Kurapika slumped in defeat, while Kuroro sat in a rigid position. Both stayed that way for a few more minute, before finally Kurapika spoke up.

"Now what?" He asked to nobody in particular.

"What indeed."

* * *

"DANCHOU! DO YOU HEAR ME?" Nobunaga peered into the darkness of the cave with his big eyes, yet the darkness was so impenetrable. His voice echoed in the darkness, yet no reply ever came.

"Damn!" He swore as he straightened up. "What do we do now?"

"Maybe someone can go down there to investigate." Shalnark piped in.

"You go." Machi shoved the young man forward.

"EEH? No, I was just suggesting. Besides, I'm not the best man for this." He protested.

"Sssh!" Shizuku suddenly hissed as she put a finger to her lips. "I heard something."

Everyone gathered around the gaping hole and keened their hearing. Indeed, they heard noises coming from the darkness. Phinks and Nobunaga leaned forwards and peered into the darkness, hoping to hear something more distinct or to see something. They heard a whizzing sound, like a projectile cutting through the thick air. Suddenly, something swished past Nobunaga's face, missing his nose just by an inch. In his surprise, he yelped and jumped back, landing on his butt on the dusty floor. A chain with metal ball moved wildly like a snake, and suddenly it dashed past Phink's head, this time missing his ear by some inches, and wrapped itself around the body of a pillar.

"What the—" Phinks joined Nobunaga on the ground as he fell on his butt. "Isn't that the chain-guy's—"

Before anyone could do anything, another louder noise could be heard from the hole. The chain tightened and went rigid, as if something very heavy was attached to its other end. Something emerged from the hole like a cannon ball. It flew up high to the sky and, as if in slow motion, was pulled down by the gravity and landed unceremoniously on the ground a few metres away from the group with a loud thud and a mild quake. Thin cloud of dusts rose from the ground as the thing hit the ground. It was only a second later that they all realised that the thing had been humans; two humans to be exact. The two launched into coughing fits and scrambled to untangle themselves from each other.

"Get away from me!" One said while kicking rudely at the other.

"And you get off me." The other one shoved the smaller one away.

"Hands off!" The one with lighter voice barked.

The two continued struggling to stand up on their own, but their movements were clearly restricted to their wrists. The members of Genei Ryodan who were present there waited warily. They recognised the voices as their Danchou's and the chain-guy's, but they had no idea on how things had ended up that way. What was more out of place was the fact that _they_ were bickering. The Spiders looked at each other. Something must have happened down there.

"Now I've gotten ourselves out of that place, what do you _suggest_ we do now?" Kurapika snarled at him while trying to stand as far away as possible from the older man within the allotted space allowed by the accursed manacle.

"Obviously we must get rid of this…ridiculous bind." Kuroro shook his magically manacled hand to emphasise his point.

"How?" Kurapika asked.

"Why, you didn't strike me as someone this dumb, Kuruta." Kuroro turned to look at him and gave him a mocking smile.

"Excuse me?" Kurapika glared at him.

"The genie is from the enchanted relic we are both after. I suppose the relic broke when we fought, and he was released."

"And this is what we get from releasing him. How grateful." Kurapika said with thick sarcasm while rolling his eyes. "Just great. And you haven't answered my question."

"Genies are seriously true to their power. There is no way to get around the rules they declare on the jinxes they cast. It must be fulfilled down to the last letter." Kuroro said with monotonous voice.

"But I am not going to tag along with you like this." Kurapika shook his manacled arm angrily at him. "I'd rather die than to travel with you!"

"I would be more than happy to do the killing-job for you, given the normal circumstances. But since condition does not allow, unfortunately you will have to bear with it."

"And why do you care, anyway? I'm more than willing to commit suicide, if by doing so I can drag you with me into the pits of hell!"

"But if you die now, your comrades' eyes will be forever lost."

Kurapika opened his mouth to argue back, but found no more sensible arguments. Kuroro was correct. Even if it violated his dignity, he had to bear with the shame because collecting back his people's eyes were one of his goals. If he died now, he could never do it anymore. He swallowed bile and glared daggers at Kuroro.

"My, aren't we being talkative today." He said spitefully.

"You are annoying."

"And you are despicable."

So they continued hurling insults towards each other. It seemed that both had forgotten the presence of the 10 other people there, who were watching their quarrels with perplexity in their faces.

"Danchou?" Machi called out, still unsure of the situation.

Hearing her voice, both Kurapika and Kuroro stopped their arguments and turned to her. Kuroro fought his urge to sigh in front of his subjects. Explaining his—their—predicament would be tough, especially with Nobunaga around. He had a certain thirst to kill the boy in the worst possible way since the boy had killed his best friend, Uvogin. Even worse, because of the stupid conditions laid out by a certain blasted genie, _he_ had to protect the boy from Nobunaga's quest of revenge. Heck, they technically had to protect each other since their lives depended on each other.

Nevertheless, he had to tell them. So he did. Kurapika said nothing as he spoke; all he did was to have a glaring competition with Nobunaga. When Kuroro was done, silence fell among them. The members looked at each other with the same question in their minds: "What now?" It was the worst-possible case; to have the Kuruta bound to their leader while the boy desired the Spider head's death the most. It was like walking with a time bomb.

"For now, it will be temporary disbanding for us. Until I am done with this business, that is." Kuroro declared. "Any objections?"

"Danchou, can I tag along with you?" Nobunaga asked while he still glared at the blond.

"You, Nobunaga, are prohibited from seeing us until further notice." He ordered him deadpan. He did not want to waste his energy trying to prevent the incoming bloodshed between the two along their journey. Nobunaga wailed in protest, only to have Franklin dragged him away to calm him down.

"Now…" Kuroro glanced at the Kuruta standing next to him, whose head was only slightly past his shoulder.

"What?" He snapped at him rudely.

"Nostrad sent you, correct?"

"Yes." He answered curtly.

"Then we will need you dead for him." Kurapika snapped his head towards Kuroro, his mouth open as he was about to protest. Before he could utter a single syllable, his head was slammed against the hard concrete floor and Kuroro was already pinning him by his neck.

"What. The. Hell. Are. You. DOING?" Kurapika chocked each word with effort, since his throat was squeezed by Kuroro's strong arm, but not without the underlying wrath in his tone. In his anger, his iris turned bloody crimson, which only earned a satisfied grin from the older man on top of him. Kurapika cringed as he gazed into the obsidian orb of the man. They were so dark, endless, and drawing. He felt drawn into their depths the longer he stared at them.

"Good. Coltopi, copy him." Kuroro called at his comrade; the small man with a mop of hair covering him face that only an eyeball was visible. He complied with his order without any protest and did as he was told. He gingerly touched the fuming Kuruta's arm; which was securely pinned against the floor by Kuroro.

In a minute, a perfect copy of Kurapika was made and Kuroro released the seething boy from his grip. Kurapika pushed him away roughly and dusted himself. He did not accuse him of anything or demanded any explanation from him, since he knew perfectly of what Kuroro was trying to do. He needed to make a duplicate of himself and faked his death, so that the Nostrad would not be searching for him once they found him missing during the mission. He also understood that Kuroro was trying to provoke his Scarlet Eyes, since it would be much more convincing that way. Much to his annoyance, it was well thought.

"Nobunaga." Kuroro called at the sulking samurai, who was still pouting. "You can 'decorate' the fake Kuruta to your heart's content."

"Really?" Immediately, the samurai's face lit up and he bounced his way towards the sprawling fake body on the floor. As he unsheathed his sword, he gave Kurapika an evil grin. Kurapika graced him with his most intimidating glare.

"Mind if I join the makeover?" Feitan asked, the evil anticipation was thick in his voice. Even when he was not looking, Kurapika could feel his sadistic grin.

"By all means." Nobunaga mocked a bow. In no time, there were sounds of flesh being ripped and torn, coupled with the slashing voice of sword against fabrics and flesh.

"Spare the face. They need to be able to identify him." Machi commented coldly as she watched from sideways. There was no emotion whatsoever on her cold feature as she watched her comrades redecorating the fake Kuruta. In the mean time, Kurapika stared at his body being mutilated without even flinching or cringing. Kuroro observed him with mild amusement from his side.

"You don't find this revolting?" He asked out of curiosity. The blond looked so refined, he thought the boy would not stand such a bloody scene.

"I've seen my comrades in worse condition." He said quietly, though not weakly. He braced himself to see his fake body being dismembered, while keeping in mind that it might happen to him once the Genei Ryodan had their hands on him for real. Kuroro looked over the boy from head to toe, measuring him with calculating eyes. He had seen the strength in the boy, and was quite amused that such thin body could muster such strength.

When they were quite done with the fake body, they carelessly trashed it to the dusty floor and let it be there. Kurapika looked at his duplicate with detached expression, as if it did not have his face. Kuroro ordered them to disperse, which they did immediately. Soon, the two found themselves alone in the ruin, with the manacles binding them together.

"We'll be going to Ryuusei-gai." Kuroro suddenly declared, breaking the awkward silence between them.

"WHAT? No way!" Kurapika refused vehemently. The very thought of going to his nemesis's hometown was just ridiculous.

"Well, do _you_ have any other better options to begin with?"

"…Not at the moment."

"Then we'll be better off investing our time in Ryuusei-gai, since I know someone who can help us with this issue." Kuroro simply said.

"Fine, fine." Kurapika grumbled.

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_**Author's Note**__: Well… I hope this is somewhat satisfactory (?) Reviews will be much appreciated and accepted. I think Kuroro is a bit out of character, or is he not? I was just itching to get Kuroro and Kurapika bickering with each other (feh…)_

_**Next**__: The fact that Kurapika had to travel with Kuroro Lucifer was the last thing he could have expected in the universe he was living in. But reality is reality, no matter how harsh. In the end, they had to come up with some forms of truce if they wanted to reach The Shooting Star City somewhat safely and fast. _


	2. Chapter 2: Truce

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter, only the random supporting characters popping out here and there in the stories…_

_**Story so far**__: Thanks to the genie, they were stuck together and they could not kill each other. Kuroro said that he had a acquaintance in the Shooting Star City, who supposedly knew how to deal with the magical manacle, and so they set forth to the said city. Along the way, though, they would have to make a truce._

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**Chapter 2**

**_TRUCE_**

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It was already twilight when they reached the nearest town, and the rain was pouring like there was no tomorrow. The first thing they looked for was an inn, and they soon enough found one. It was a decent small inn with homey feeling, and the innkeeper was a nice, warm old lady; who had been mortified the moment she saw them entering her little inn. They were soaking wet from head to toe, and chilled to the bone.

"Dear Lord! Look at the two of you! Oh dear, oh dear. Come and warm yourself at the fireplace. I will lend you two clean towels." With that, the old lady busied herself with towels and hot drinks for the two of them.

Due to the magical manacle fastened on their wrists by Hassamunnin the genie, they had to huddle near the fire closely. The link was barely 20 cm apart. Kurapika sat down and stared into the fire, avoiding Kuroro's eyes. He thanked the old lady sincerely when she gave them the towels and hot drinks, but his eyes never met Kuroro's. It was not like Kuroro was bothered about it. He wanted to avoid any unnecessary arguments and fights, which they fortunately had not had since they left the ruin. If anything, he was somewhat grateful for the Kuruta's self-isolation.

"I will prepare two adjacent rooms for the two of you, if you want." The old lady addressed them.

"Thank you, but can we have one room with two beds?" Kuroro asked the lady politely.

"Oh?" The old lady suddenly perked up. "Are the two of you—"

"She is my relative." Kuroro hurriedly fabricated a story, not wanting to tell her about the genie and the bind, and most of all the misunderstanding that the Kuruta was his _lover_. "She doesn't like sleeping alone in a room."

"Oh, I see…" The old lady's expression softened, and there was a slight disappointment in her youthful eyes. "Well, I will prepare a room that suits your request."

With that, the old lady scurried away and went upstairs to prepare their room. As Kuroro turned back, he found the Kuruta glaring daggers fiercely at him, with the absent of his scarlet eyes. Some of the wet golden locks of his hair were stuck on his face, and the warmth of the fire had brought some colour back to his cheek. Kuroro looked at him, and could not dismiss the strong impression that the Kuruta looked so effeminate. He had also instinctively referred to him as a 'she' when talking to the old lady.

"I am not a 'she'!" He growled at him.

"Well, you look like one." Kuroro shrugged and dried his wet hair with his free hand. "And obviously the innkeeper thinks you are a girl, since she offered separate rooms."

"You could have corrected her." Kurapika protested.

"Too much a hassle."

Kurapika was already on the verge of strangling the older man to death when the old lady went back and approached them. She cheerfully asked them to follow her as she was going to show them to their room. Grumpily Kurapika followed behind Kuroro closely, since the manacle restricted their distance. Their hands would brush against each other from time to time, and Kurapika always flinched every time. Kuroro did not show any reaction, but he was getting tired of the boy's nerve-wracking flinches.

"If you need anything, just call for me. Breakfast is at 7 o'clock tomorrow." The old lady told them good-naturedly. "Enjoy your stay here. Good night." She bowed politely, which Kuroro returned with a slight nod.

Kurapika looked at the room and ultimately his eyes landed on the beds. The thought of him sleeping at very close proximity to the Genei Ryodan leader made his stomach twist. When Kuroro turned around, he noticed Kurapika's gaze at the beds and smirked. He was going to have a very good time teasing the hell out of the Kuruta boy, and the boy would not be able to kill him for it.

"The beds won't eat you, Kuruta." He began.

"That's not what I'm thinking." Kurapika snapped at him as he gave him a sharp look.

"A penny for your thoughts?" He still smirked, unfazed by his glare.

"Like I'll tell you." Kurapika looked away, and again his gaze fell on a certain spot in the room. Kuroro followed his gaze, and this time he knew exactly what was in the boy's head. This time, he was equally disheartened by the issue.

"Well, we will need to deal with this sooner or later." Kuroro sighed.

"…" Kurapika seemed to have frozen on the spot. He would rather DIE than to bathe TOGETHER with Kuroro Lucifer.

* * *

It was disastrous. It had been really, really, disastrous. Bath time would be the least anticipated time during their journey, if not avoided. Kurapika had hoped that the link would be at least a bit flexible and spared them some private space during their bath time, but NO! The chain remained 20 cm, and as the result one had to stand outside the bathroom with one arm slipped into the bathroom. Kurapika had repeatedly warned Kuroro not to peek, otherwise he would not hesitate to gouge his eyes out, or decapitate him. Kuroro had responded with exasperated "Yes, yes, yes." And the boy would only stop until he said, "I am not Hisoka."

Even worse, the Kuruta boy did not have any single spare clothes, since they decided not to retrieve his belongings in the Nostrad mansion. It would be too suspicious if his belongings suddenly disappeared along with his 'death'. So, Kuroro had to lend him his spare clothes, which he carried in his Fun Fun Cloth. It turned out too large for the younger boy. He emerged from the bathroom wearing slightly oversized dark grey t-shirt and black pants.

When it was Kuroro's turn to bathe, he had purposely taken his sweet time bathing, just to irritate the boy. Kurapika had to repeatedly tell him to hurry up, because his left arm was getting tired of being suspended stiff for a long time. When he came out of the bathroom, Kuroro was awarded with his glacial glare. Kurapika looked at their drenched clothes and sighed. They had to get them dry by tomorrow, since he was not going to travel in Kuroro's clothes. First thing in the morning when they left the inn, he would be buying his own sets of clothes. A soft knock on the door broke Kurapika from his thoughts. Kuroro called the person to come in, and entered in the lady, with a laundry basket in her arms.

"Dearies, I come here to help you wash your wet clothes. Oh!" The kind old lady stopped as her eyes fell on Kurapika. A warm smile bloomed, causing her wrinkles at the corners of her eyes to appear. "You are wearing your brother's clothes? How cute."

Kurapika's first reaction was to blush furiously, while Kuroro had to give all he had not to laugh out loud. He looked at the Kuruta again, and realized that he indeed looked funny in his clothes, since they were one size too large for the thin boy.

"N—no! That's not…I don't have any clothes…so…" Kurapika stuttered in his embarrassment. He flailed his right arm awkwardly; his left arm locked by his side since Kuroro had to stop his right arm from flailing as well.

"You don't have any single clothes? Oh dear, you poor thing." The old lady gasped in mortification and her eyes widened in horror. "What happened?"

"Actually, I have only found her today on my trip here." Kuroro stepped in, suddenly an evil idea popped in his head. "You see, she is my long-lost sister. We have different mothers; that's why we look different. She was taken by her mother away when she was barely toddler. Now she has no belongings at all since she was kept as servant." He said dramatically. "She is traumatised, so she doesn't want to leave my side."

"Oooh...You poor thing." The old lady sniffed with glassy eyes, deeply touched by Kuroro's magnificent lie. "You are so fortunate that your brother found you. Look at you, so pale and thin. The landlord must have been treating you badly. Have you been eating enough?"

"I—I…" True, Kurapika's face had turned ashen pale but from a different cause than what the old lady had assumed. He gawked in astonishment, too surprised and shocked to say anything. Kuroro noticed this and he had to stifle a laugh.

The innkeeper continued babbling about proper meals and so on and so forth, which the Kuruta was only half-listening. Kuroro acted as if he was listening to the old lady earnestly, while inside he was having his fun in Kurapika's expense. When she was quite done with her lecture, she picked their dirty laundry and promised to get them clean and dry by the next morning. She bid them good night, gave Kurapika a sympathising look, and excused herself. When the door had been closed with a soft click, silence fell in the room and Kuroro braced himself for the coming thunderstorm.

"Long-lost sister? Servant? Traumatised? DON'T WANT TO LEAVE YOUR SIDE?" Kurapika roared. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU SAYING, YOU ASS-HOLE?"

"Making up story for our cover-up." Kuroro offered lightly, as if the story he had fabricated had not violated Kurapika's dignity as a boy and a licensed Hunter.

"Oh, your story is partially true. I AM traumatised by your story-making skill." He glared dagger at him, his eyes turned bleeding crimson. It glowed in the dimly lit room like a pair of ember.

"What do you suggest we tell her then?" Kuroro challenged him, his dark eyes daring Kurapika's scarlet eyes.

"You could've told her that we are just travelling companion, corrected her that I am a boy, and that we lost our baggage on our way here! Without converting me into a freaking girl!" He yelled.

"But what's the fun in it?" He grinned. The sight of the calm and collected Kuruta losing composure and ranting at him was so much fun. The jokes and funs during his time with the Genei Ryodan had been mostly bloody and cruel, and he did not actively partake in it. This was a refreshing change, and he was going to enjoy it.

"You are having fun at my expense, you bastard!" Kurapika swore that if his left hand was not bound to Kuroro's right hand, he would have crushed his windpipe eons ago. The man was getting on his nerves, and he was ENJOYING it.

"Indeed I am." He grinned again.

That was it. Kurapika's eyes blazed in the darkness of the poorly lit room. His eyes looked like a pair of cat's eyes, glaring at him with intensity that could have choked someone. Kuroro's dark eyes were fixed to those eyes, the beautiful red the colour of blood and fire. He leaned forward to take a better look at those orbs, and unconsciously he reached out to touch the boy's chin and tilt the face slightly upwards. His face drew closer, and when Kurapika could not take it anymore, his fist; which had been trembling out of restrained anger, acted on his behalf.

SMACK!

Kuroro staggered backwards, his left cheek red and bruised from Kurapika's abuse. He still had his right fist raised up, his knuckles red from punching Kuroro's face hard. He had not been able to smack Kuroro with his full force given the awkward and unfavourable position they were in previously. Still, a punch was a punch and Kurapika was somewhat satisfied that he was able to punch the irritation man square on the face. Kuroro straightened up, but he did not even bother to check his bruised cheek. There was no blood spilled, and the curious look in his dark eyes had evaporated. There was only cold mockery in those obsidian orbs.

"As I've thought, your eyes are still the best among all." He commented, smiling coldly and cruelly at him.

"You—"

Kurapika tried to punch him again, but this time he was prepared. He caught Kurapika's wrist and twisted it so that Kurapika's arm was twisted along and he gasped in pain and surprise. He looked up to reward Kuroro with his crimson glare, and found the man looking down at him with emotionless eyes. They were engaged in the staring competition for a while.

"Get some sleep. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning." He finally said curtly and released his grip on Kurapika's wrist. Kurapika snatched his arm and inspected the grip mark on his thin wrist.

Without waiting for any response, Kuroro walked over to the beds, dragging Kurapika along as the link remained 20 cm. He pushed the beds closer until they formed a queen-sized bed. Wordlessly, they climbed the bed and sneaked their ways under the warm blanket awkwardly. Without saying anything, not even a single goodnight, both of them drifted into their respective guarded sleep.

* * *

"Wake up." Someone called at him with a tug to his wrist. He groaned in protest. His body still needed some more rests, and his eyelids were heavy. The tug came again, this time stronger. Kurapika rolled over—well, intended to—but the magical manacle fastened to his wrist stopped him in an uncomfortable position.

"Wake up now, or I will drag you out of the bed." The voice said again. The voice was pleasantly low and there was no irritation in his voice, but there was a hint of cold amusement. Even in his half-asleep state, the voice was quickly registered to Kurapika's brains as annoying.

When Kurapika's eyes fluttered open, the first thing he saw was the wooden ceiling and Kuroro's face looming over him. He was sitting cross-legged right beside him, his manacled hand very near his. Kuroro had been observing the sleeping Kuruta. He was secretly amused to see how the boy had stiffened the second he saw him as he opened his sapphire eyes. Kurapika looked away and took a deep breath, before finally sitting up.

"Get changed. The innkeeper has delivered our dry clothes early this morning." Kuroro nodded towards the pile of neatly folded clothes. Kurapika's blue tribal attire was put on top of Kuroro's black set of clothes.

Too sleepy to protest or to retaliate, Kurapika blindly tagged along as Kuroro dragged him across the room. They took turns changing their clothes in the bathroom, as Kurapika insisted. Kuroro decided not to wear his Danchou attire, and opted for something more common and less attracting; although it was still all in black, though. He let his hair down and put a bandana to cover the cross mark on his forehead. Kurapika stared at him; Kuroro looked much younger in this fashion. He silently handed Kuroro back his garments, with a silent and reluctant "Thank you." Kuroro gave him an amused look, took the garments back good-naturedly and stored them in his Fun Fun Cloth. They walked down the staircase towards the dining area side by side, and were greeted by the pleasant smell of the morning soup and fresh bread.

"Ah, good morning! How's your night?" The old lady approached them from the counter, curious expression on her face. Kurapika let Kuroro did all the talking and pleasantries, but threw him occasional glares whenever he addressed him as a 'she' whilst emphasising it. He made mental note that Kuroro Lucifer was damn good in acting, no wonder he was able to deceive people in thinking that he was a harmless gentleman. He knew all too well that Neon Nostrad was one of his victims.

"By the way, girl. Wait there, I have something to give you." The innkeeper addressed Kurapika with her youthful look and waved at him to follow her. Kurapika looked at Kuroro for explanation, who only shrugged. A few minutes later the lady emerged from one of the rooms with a bundle in her arms. Kurapika felt a queasy sensation in his stomach.

"Oh, the size is just perfect!" The lady chirped in delight as she unrevealed the bundle she was carrying. Kurapika felt like fainting on the spot. The lady was holding up a nice cream-coloured dress, with skirt which was probably slightly past his knees. It was a casual daily dress, nothing so grand or frilly. Kurapika's face was bleached white, while Kuroro had to clamp his mouth with his hand to hide his wide gleeful grin, pretending to assess the dress with serious face.

"This belongs to my daughter, but since she is already married off and nobody is wearing this, I was thinking of throwing it away. But since you need it, I will give it to you for free." The lady beamed at Kurapika, and commented on how suitable the dress was to him, saying that his golden locks matched the dress' colour and so on.

"No, no, I don't deserve such treatments. It's okay, my _brother_," he shot Kuroro a heated glare, and the recipient just grinned smugly at him. ",will buy me clothes after this, the practical ones since we will be travelling."

"Oh…" The lady looked so dejected that Kurapika instantly felt guilty for turning down her gift. Kuroro, again, came up with a mischievous thought. He was standing slightly behind Kurapika, as far as the magical link allowed them without looking awkward, and he leaned forward slightly to whisper to the Kuruta's ears softly, so that the lady would not hear it.

"It's not nice to reject her good intention, Kuruta."

His taunting worked wonders. As the lady gave him a pleading look, Kurapika could not bear the guilt. He finally conceded and accepted the dress, which earned him a smile brimming with delight from the kind old lady. Her high spirit returned and she ushered them to the table while listing down the breakfast list for them. She did not pay attention when both of them placed their hands; Kuroro's right hand and Kurapika's left hand, on the table in a very strange and awkward position. When they had placed their orders and the innkeeper went to fetch their breakfast, Kurapika turned to face the still amused Kuroro.

"Take responsibility. You keep it." He tossed the dress to Kuroro, although not in a rude manner for the fear the lady might have caught him throwing the dress at Kuroro as if it was something terrible.

"Fine." Kuroro shrugged and took the dress. He fingered the dress with his thumb as if feeling the material. "This is made from good material. You should be more thankful to her."

Kurapika's eyes narrowed at his comment. Kuroro had said it as if he really knew about fabrics and clothing. Then again, judging from his fashion sense, he might be the fetish type towards clothing. Kuroro kept the dress aside, deciding not to store the dress now when there were people in the dining area. He did not want to attract unwanted attention. When the breakfast came, they ate in silence. Kurapika had it easier since he could use his right hand freely. Kuroro had to adjust himself with using left hand more often, since he would be using it more frequently for quite some time. As he spooned his soup, he did so rather awkwardly, and Kurapika took his chance to smirk at him just to spite him.

After they checked out from the inn (the innkeeper had hoped they would stay longer), Kurapika declared that he was going to buy his share of clothes. Kuroro just nodded and together they went in search for a clothing store. They found a small one, with comfy looking interior. Before Kurapika could begin browsing, suddenly Kuroro pulled him by his elbow; feeling the quality of material of the boy's clothing.

"What are you doing?" Kurapika snapped in annoyance.

"You will need something with thicker material than your tribal clothes. We will be crossing a desert on our way to Ryuusei-gai." Kuroro said deadpan, and then released his grip on Kurapika's elbow. He did not want to get into trouble looking after a freezing boy in the middle of the desert because of lack of appropriate attire for the harsh environment.

Wordlessly, he dragged the younger boy along towards the shelf which housed the jackets and coats. Begrudgingly, Kurapika had to let the older one choose the most appropriate clothes for him because he knew of the environment better. Much to his relief, Kuroro chose some of the less conspicuous ones and the practical ones. He also chose the ones with lighter material for day time, since the desert was scorching hot during the day and freezing cold during the night. When they were done, Kuroro simply dumped the clothes to the counter and actually _paid_ for it. Kurapika had to restrain from staring at Spider Head with disbelieving eyes. For once, he witnessed him doing something lawful. Kuroro knew of his incredulity and sighed.

"I won't be doing any stealing with you in tow, since you will just get in the way." He explained.

"That's good to hear." Kurapika honestly thought so. He would not just stand there watching the Spider head stealing things right before his eyes. He would did all he could to ruin his plans for any raids. Kuroro was sharp enough to deduce that.

They walked around the town, buying supplies and other necessities needed for their trip to Ryuusei-gai. Once they were out of town, Kuroro stored everything into his Fun Fun Cloth. Without saying anything, Kurapika let Kuroro lead the way. Thus they began their journey to Kuroro Lucifer's hometown.

* * *

As soon as they settled in the train compartments, sitting side by side, Kuroro took out a book and began reading silently. Kurapika just stared into the space, while thinking all possibilities that could get them out of this most uncomfortable and annoying predicament. The thought of contacting Leorio, Killua, and Gon to help him had crossed his minds several times, but he dismissed the thought. He did not want to bother his friends with such issues that had nothing to do with them. Besides, meddling with this issue would mean meddling with the Genei Ryodan as well. He did not want his friends to get into trouble.

One time, Kurapika got curious enough to take a quick glance of the title of the book that Kuroro was quietly reading. One flash and he recognised the book immediately. His eyes widened slightly, but he kept his cool façade and resumed staring into space. Kuroro noticed the slightest change in his demeanour.

"You know this book?" Kuroro asked easily without averting his gaze from the page of the book.

"I've read it before." Kurapika answered curtly. He held a certain degree of respect for books; especially the good ones. Apparently, that particular book that Kuroro was reading was one of his favourites. It was a tough book, but it was fun reading it.

"Oh? And what do you think of it?" Kuroro glanced at him sideways.

"I think…" and thus he began telling Kuroro his opinions of the book. At first he was rather reluctant to talk, but as Kuroro gave response to his opinions and giving his as well, they started talking about more books and authors; but still not as much as how good friends would. They were, after all, still enemies who just happened to be in common problem.

In his part, Kuroro really thought that the Kuruta boy was well read and intelligent; more intelligent than most of his Spiders members if possible; rivalling Shalnark and himself. He had to admit that discussing books was interesting with the boy. Shalnark might be intelligent and a quick-thinker, but he was not so interested in books. He preferred surfing the net and hacking during his free time. At least now he found one good point of having the Kuruta as travelling companion; aside from his constant animosity towards him and annoying tendency to flinch whenever their hands brushed each other by accident. Several times he had almost told the boy to stop flinching, but then he brushed the thought away. If he did tell him, most likely the boy would start ranting about how it was Kuroro's fault, that it could not be helped that he would loathe every single contact with the leader of Genei Ryodan. The boy was sharp-tongued and quick-witted, and Kuroro knew it better than anyone else that once he started arguing with the boy, there would be no end to it. He argued with the boy once, and in the end he got a bad headache. He did not want to trouble himself yet again, so he just bore with it.

Kurapika stared to the scenery outside the train. The world seemed to flash past him, everything blurring into spectrum of colour and silhouettes. Kuroro had said that the trip would take quite long, and he was already bored to death. Kurapika was a patient boy, but the mere presence of Kuroro Lucifer just next to him was enough to drain all his patience away. The man had been reading another book since their conversation had ended earlier, leaving Kurapika all to himself.

Suddenly, he felt a weight dropped to his lap. Kurapika looked down and spotted a book on his lap. He gingerly took the book with his right hand and inspected it. He turned around to look at Kuroro, but he was still reading the same book.

"You look bored. There will be still a few more hours, so I figure I'll lend you that." He said as a matter-of-factly, without even averting his gaze from the book.

Kurapika gave him an odd stare, and then looked back at the book. It was very strange. Was Kuroro acting kind to him? Come to think of it, he had been putting up with his belligerent and hostile attitude. Most of the time he would let him to his own devices; him minding his own business while Kurapika minded his own. He flipped open the pages and gave it a cursory glance. Logically, he had no other things to do and Kuroro Lucifer, of all people, was offering him something to do. He would not want anything to do with anything that belonged to the Master Thief, since most would be stolen goods, anyway, but he was dying out of boredom, and so he gave in. He adjusted himself to a more comfortable position and began reading the book quietly.

As Kurapika was so engrossed in reading the book, he missed the slight smile that graced Kuroro's face.

* * *

"Yes, Shalnark?"

[Ah, Danchou? I have some interesting news here.]

Kurapika looked away and pretended not to hear anything. He looked around the train station, and found that night was falling. They stopped at the last station, and after that they would have to travel on foot to reach the desert, and then crossed the desert on foot again. Kurapika sighed. It would be a very long and tiring trip, plus nerve-wracking; considering he was stuck with the leader of Genei Ryodan. Kuroro talked quietly on the phone, and Kurapika did not bother to listen to the conversation. Instead, he thought of what they should do now. First would be to find an inn.

"Let's find an inn first." Kuroro voiced his thought.

In silence they walked side by side, scanning the town for a decent place to spend the night. The town was quiet and scarce with people although it was only early dusk. Kurapika looked up and noticed a mansion standing tall at the end of the town, with a cluster of high-end estates surrounding the mansion. The gap between the poor and the rich had been stark. Kurapika would find a beggar or two at the corner of the streets; either sleeping on a pile of tattered rug, or begging for easy money. When they walked past a beggar boy, Kurapika just could not turn down his plea for a coin. He dropped a coin to the boy's hand, which the boy received jubilantly.

"You are not helping them by giving charity to them." Kuroro coldly remarked.

"This is none of your business." Kurapika countered, although he was bothered with his comments.

"They are just a bunch of lazy kids, who could not bother to look for decent jobs. You are just encouraging them to stay as the beggar they are." He continued, his dark eyes looking at another beggar with a certain degree of contempt.

Kurapika could not help but to notice the slight hint of emotion in his words. There was something between the older man and beggars. It was as if he had some bad experiences about it. Kurapika shrugged off the thought, thinking that he would have nothing to do about it. It was Kuroro's problem, not his. It was an unspoken agreement between them: mind your own business.

"You see the mansion over there?" Suddenly Kuroro spoke again.

"Yes." He merely responded.

"There will be an auction there tonight." Kuroro said again, this time he looked at Kurapika, waiting for a certain response.

"And so? Does it have anything to do with me?" Kurapika said disinterestedly, his eyes still scanning the town for inn.

"A certain item will be auctioned there." He dropped an obvious hint. He knew the Kuruta was bright enough to understand what he was trying to tell him. And he was right. Kurapika turned to look at him with suspicious eyes. "Shalnark informed me just now."

"The Scarlet Eyes." He muttered, a flash of anger glinted in his oceanic eyes. "Why are you telling me this? What do you want?"

Kuroro stopped and turned to face the young Kuruta. He regarded Kurapika with calculating eyes, as if re-evaluating something in his mind. Kurapika waited patiently. Whatever it was, the Genei Ryodan leader had something in mind, and it involved him and his tribe's treasure.

"I'm offering you a deal."

* * *

"You could have spared his life, at least." Kurapika frowned at the lifeless body sprawled on the floor.

"If I let him live, he will alert the guards when he wakes up. You are the one who want this to be as discreet as possible." Kuroro said nonchalantly while extracting a white envelope from the man's pocket.

"Still…"

Kuroro sighed. He had offered the Kuruta to help him retrieve the Scarlet Eyes from the auction site in exchange for his full cooperation in their attempt to break the stupid link binding them and a truce between them. Kurapika had finally agreed, but not before he interrogated him further to find any trickeries behind his seemingly well-intended offer. When he found none, and would not since Kuroro had been really honest about it, he agreed albeit half-heartedly. Kuroro was truthfully tired of their current volatile truce. It was not like he feared death by the Kuruta's hand or what. He embraced death as part of his life. It was the Kuruta that was tiring him. Kuroro did not mind the boy's presence. He did not hate him whatsoever, but the boy felt otherwise. He kept emitting hostility and wariness towards him, which he had tried his best to ignore but still they were eating up at him.

And so, Kuroro told him his plan. It was simple: they were going to sneak in, pretending to be the invited guest (after robbing someone of his invitation letter), attended the auction just to observe, waited until someone had won the eyeballs, followed the new owner, interjected him on his way home, and stole the eyeballs. Kurapika had been really unhappy with the fact that he was going to steal, but relented when Kuroro said that there was no other way so might as well bear with it. He had been right, of course. It was not like Kurapika had money to buy the eyeballs himself, and surely Kuroro would not waste a handsome amount of money on the Scarlet Eyes while he could just steal it, being the Master Thief he was.

"Let's go."

With a tug at his left wrist, Kurapika grumbled and followed the older man along. When they reached the mansion's gate, they put on their mask of indifference, pretending that they had been rightfully invited by the lord of the mansion. Kuroro handed them the stolen invitation letter and strolled in with Kurapika in tow. He was slightly impressed that the boy could put such a straight face, while he expected the boy, who had a high standard of moral ethics, to be nervous and fidgety.

It went smoothly as they planned. The security was loose, and they had no problem stalking the so-called new owner of the Scarlet Eyes and ambushed him on his way to his car. Kuroro swiftly killed everyone on site, ensuring no witness survived. With his free left hand, he took the Scarlet Eyes with certain reverence. Although he was a thief, he was no ordinary thief. He was Kuroro Lucifer, leader of the notorious Genei Ryodan, who had fine taste for priceless artefacts and rare objects. He knew how to appreciate a work of arts; and the Scarlet Eyes were ones. He admired the floating eyeballs in the container for a while, before turning to the Kuruta and handed it to him.

Kurapika took the container from Kuroro's hand with his free right hand; his fingers brushing against Kuroro's. This time, Kurapika had been so preoccupied by the eyes that no flinch came when their skin contacted. His visage softened, and his oceanic blue eyes stared at the eyes with a wave of endless sadness and loss. It might be his father's, or his mother's, or his friend's eyeballs he was holding, but he had no way to find that out. He wanted to cry, wanted to hug the container as if it contained his life, but he refrained himself from doing so. Kurapika was still aware of Kuroro's presence, and would not show his weak side in front of his enemy. He hardened his heart and swallowed.

"I keep the end of my bargain."

"And so will I." Kurapika muttered, his eyes never leaving the floating eyeballs, which seemed to be staring at him blankly. They both stood awkwardly in silence. Kurapika was satisfied that he finally retrieved a pair of Scarlet Eyes, but he had no idea on what he should do with it. First thing, he had to keep them somewhere safe. Kuroro sensed his predicament.

"Do you want me—"

"OVER THERE!" A booming voice echoed in the dark street, and both Kuroro and Kurapika snapped their heads to the direction of the shout.

Men started to pour into the previously lonely street, all armed to their teeth. Kurapika's first instinct had been to cover the container for protection.

"Tsk. They find us." With a flick of his wrist, a red book appeared in his right hand. Kuroro let the pages flipped until it stopped at a certain page with the Teleportation skill stored in it. Kurapika, who had been shocked, was not paying attention to him at all. With one swift movement, Kuroro slipped his free left arm to Kurapika's shoulder and hugged him, with the container safely tucked between him and Kurapika. His Nen book glowed, and they disappeared from sight, leaving the soldiers befuddled and lost.

Somewhere else far enough from the ruckus, they reappeared. Kuroro still had his left arm around Kurapika's shoulder, and kept it there as he looked around to ensure that nobody had seen them. Kurapika had frozen in his arm, his both hands clutching the container to his chest while his eyes stared to Kuroro's chest. He had not anticipated Kuroro's moves at all. Slowly, his brains started to work and his free right arm acted out of instinct.

"Hands off!" He yelled and batted Kuroro's arm away from his shoulder, his eyes flashing angrily at the older man.

Kuroro could see that the younger boy was flustered due to his sudden action. He would want to tease him further, to annoy the hell out of him, but his priority to keep their deal came first. He lifted his left arm in a surrendering manner, and stepped away from the seething Kuruta.

"Well, I was trying to ask whether you want me to store the Eyes for safe-keeping?"

Kurapika raised an eyebrow and looked suspiciously at him. He would not want to entrust his treasure to the Master Thief, if he could help it. However, his Fun Fun Cloth skill was the best option to keep the Scarlet Eyes out of danger. Besides, all his belongings were all stored in Kuroro's Fun Fun Cloth, and anyway they were stuck together for quite a while. Kuroro would not be able to run away from him. He nodded silently and gave Kuroro the container.

* * *

Kuroro blinked his eyes sleepily several times. He had always slept with his guard up during his journey with the boy, and this night he was awakened by the boy's restless sleep. Kurapika had been shuffling in his sleep, the nightmares haunting him and when he finally could not take it, he sat up and buried his face in his knees, all the while trying not to move his left arm if possible. He did not want the Spider head to see him in such a pathetic state, but it was too late.

They had agreed with a truce; that they would not try to provoke each other into unnecessary fights that might cost them their lives, and to mind their own businesses. However, that night Kuroro felt that he had to somewhat talk the Kuruta out of his restlessness, otherwise neither of them would have decent sleep that night.

"Nightmare?" He asked sleepily.

Kurapika stiffened upon hearing his husky voice. He wanted to lie, to yell at him to mind his own business, but he was too tired and his heart felt too burdened, that he just nodded. Kuroro's eyes widened when he saw the boy's weak nod. He was so sure the boy would deny it, thinking that he would want to appear strong in front of him. Probably made some excuses, but definitely not admitting it. Kuroro took more effort to scrutinise the boy. The curtain had been drawn, so the moonlight penetrated the window and fell upon the forlorn-looking boy. His blond hair glinted softly under the dim light. Suddenly, the boy looked so small and fragile, quite the opposite of the tough persona he was donning all this time.

"Want to talk about it?" He asked again.

Suddenly, he was awarded by a hateful glare. "Talk about it with you? I am like this because of YOU!" He snapped, his eyes glowing eerily crimson in the darkness of the night.

"You're right. I am the reason why you are an orphan now. But I am not the one who sends the nightmares to you." Kuroro said while stifling a yawn.

"You—"

"Come on, kid. You can choose not to let the nightmares haunt you. You choose to let the past haunt you. That's your problem." The older man said with bored tone.

"You jerk." Kurapika hissed dangerously at him and he looked as if he could just spit poison at him anytime.

"Am I not always a jerk in your eyes in everything that I do?"

"Bastard." With that, Kurapika slumped back to the bed and pressed his eyes tightly shut. It irritated him how the man could always counter all his verbal attacks on him. In the end, he was always the one at loss of words. He huffed with annoyance before going back to his sleep, but he slept quietly for the rest of the night; his nightmares forgotten.

Kuroro listened to Kurapika's breathing until it finally fell into an even rhythm, indicating that the boy was already in deep slumber. He sighed softly and closed his eyes tiredly.

"So much for our truce." He muttered to himself before drifting into his ever-guarded sleep once again.

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: Well, honestly I laughed my head off when I was writing this story, especially the part where Kuroro was dramatically making up silly stories about Kurapika being his long-lost sister. I think this chapter has too little conversation and too much narrative, but I can't help it. They can't possibly talk much to each other, considering their position, and also I don't want to make Kuroro too out of character. So, yeah, those who like conversations more, bear with me for a while. Let's wait until Kurapika mellowed down a bit more, shall we? (grin grin…) And sorry if this chapter is way too long…_

_**Next**__: They were nearing the Ryuusei-gai; Kuroro's hometown. The path was gruelling and tediously long; but halfway there, Kurapika would never have guessed that the day that he would have to save Kuroro Lucifer was coming. What irked him more was that they had to encounter yet another mythical creature._


	3. Chapter 3: Rusalka & Desert Talk

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter, and not even the mythical creatures here…So sad…_

_**Story so far**__: Kuroro and Kurapika reached a truce (somewhat) at last, and so they continued their journey to Kuroro's hometown, the Ryuusei-gai. Along their way, though, both realised that they could not have it so easy._

* * *

**Chapter 3**

** _RUSALKA and DESERT TALK_**

* * *

**__**

"Right after we get out of this forest, it will be the desert." Kuroro told Kurapika in a not-unfriendly way. He seemed to be taking their predicament rather easily, much to Kurapika's annoyance.

"How far more?"

"One day of walk, if we continue in this pace."

They had been travelling together for about a week now, and Kurapika's animosity against Kuroro had mellowed down at the slightest degree, which allowed Kuroro to breathe a tad-bit more easily now. Somehow, the Kuruta's hostility towards him was suffocating, and it was like walking with a time bomb; as Shalnark had put it. They also started to talk slightly more, but mostly about books, politics, and histories. Kurapika had to begrudgingly admit to himself that he had never exchanged opinions to such a high level with anyone else but Kuroro Lucifer. Usually the people he talked to was either clueless about the topic he was talking about, or they just did not have enough knowledge to have a brain-spar with him. Still, not all of their discussions went smoothly. They would have arguments, of course, when they had opposing opinions. Both were equally stubborn about their opinions, and they could go on about the same topics for hours.

Right after they left the last town, they entered the forest. Halfway into the forest, Kurapika declared that it should be called a jungle rather than a forest. Kuroro just chuckled amusedly, and continued to lead the way out of the forest. They walked deeper and deeper into the forest, the light getting thinner and dimmer as they walked into the heart of the forest. Kurapika started to wonder whether they had gotten lost in the forest or not. He looked at Kuroro hesitantly for a few times already, but the older man seemed confident enough in navigating themselves in the jungle. It was as if he knew the forest like the back of his hand.

"Are you sure we are on the right track?" Kurapika finally asked dubiously.

"The forest hasn't changed much since the last time I visited."

"When was the last time you visited?"

"About 10 years ago."

"Great." Kurapika rolled his eyes. They continued walking in silence, when suddenly Kuroro stopped and looked around.

"Do you hear that?" He asked Kurapika, while his keen dark eyes were still scanning the forest.

"What?" Kurapika tried to will his hearing to be keener. All he heard was the sound of insects and some other living creatures in the forest that were making incoherent noises to him. He heard the sound of wind occasionally, but nothing more; nothing out of ordinary, at least.

"Someone's voice." Kuroro looked around again cautiously, and he started to walk towards a certain direction; which Kurapika could not pinpoint as north, south, west, or east. He had lost all sense of direction in the jungle. He quickened his pace, and Kurapika had to struggle to keep up with the more experienced man in forest. The manacle kept dragging him to close to the older man. He kept stumbling upon protruding roots, while Kuroro was walking just fine and this irked Kurapika, really.

When they finally stumbled out of a thick bush, they emerged in a clearing with a lake just in the middle. The branches of the trees around the pond stretched out to form a thin canopy over the water of the lake. The water lapped gently against the body of the bank surrounding the water.

"I don't hear or see anything extraordinary here." Kurapika said as he scanned the surrounding.

Suddenly, something caught his attention from the corner of his eyes. He turned around and spotted someone in the water. It was a woman, with long, curly pale green hair. She had very pale skin to the point it looked almost blue, and her blue eyes were beady. She waved at them and smiled charmingly. Kurapika frowned at her; there was something off about her. After a minute of further observation, he noticed that the woman's hair was dry, despite being in the water. He then realized that the woman was not a human.

Just then, he felt a strong tug from his left wrist. He looked to his left and was surprised to see Kuroro striding right towards the water. Befuddled by his sudden action, Kurapika stole a glance at Kuroro's face and noticed that his usually alert dark eyes were unfocused and they were fixed on the woman. The woman was still waving at them, delight and excitement apparent in her ethereal face. Alarmed, Kurapika tried to pull Kuroro back but the man was much stronger than him. He would not budge and kept walking towards the water.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He yelled at him with deep irritation. He yanked at the manacle roughly, but it had no effect. Kuroro still walked towards the lake and when they had reached the end of the bank, Kurapika started to panic. Somehow, he got the impression that the woman had bewitched Kuroro in some way, but it did not affect him. He had to find a way to stop Kuroro from plunging head first into the lake, dragging him along.

"Snap out of it, you bastard!" Kurapika yelled again, this time he pulled so hard that Kuroro was yanked backwards and fell to the ground just at the edge of the bank, bringing Kurapika down as well. Kurapika cursed under his breath. He had sprained his left wrist upon the fall, and it throbbed like hell now. Kuroro shifted in his position and turned to look at Kurapika. He had a puzzled and dazed look on his face.

"What…"

"Back to your sense now, huh?" Kurapika snapped at him irritably. "You were about to dive into the lake, you daze-head."

"How—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a pair of arms shot from the water and grabbed Kuroro's ankle. With unbelievable strength, the hands pulled at Kuroro's leg and managed to drag both of them into the water. With his supply of oxygen suddenly and rudely cut off, Kurapika instinctively went into a panic attack. His eyes were stung by the cold water, and he could feel himself drowning towards the bottom of the lake. In his blind struggle against the water, he felt a strong hand gripping his right elbow. With a strong pull, Kurapika sensed himself being lifted up. When he opened his eyes, he saw Kuroro's blurry face close to him. Kuroro was actually _holding_ him and was trying to swim back towards the surface. Halfway, just before they reached the surface, Kurapika saw something vague from the corner of his eyes. Turning around his head, he saw the woman from earlier swimming towards them in a terrifying speed.

Before Kurapika could warn Kuroro (he would not be able to do it properly in water anyway), the woman swam her way towards Kuroro and had her hands around his neck. Kurapika felt something scaly against his skin. Belatedly, Kurapika realized that the woman was a mermaid and she had wrapped her scaly blue tail around him and Kuroro. She pressed her naked torso against Kuroro's body, her hands cupping Kuroro's pale face.

_My, what a handsome man. Come and stay with me here, will you_? She purred affectionately. Her otherworldly voice reverberated in the water. She smiled enchantingly at Kuroro, and Kuroro seemed to be rendered incapable of fighting back. Kurapika could sense Kuroro weakening, and to his tremendous horror, Kuroro started to close his eyes in a submissive way. He was falling to her spell, Kurapika somehow knew that.

With a new resolution, Kurapika summoned his Dowsing Chain with his free right hand and attacked the mermaid. The dowsing ball hit the mermaid straight and hard on the cheek. Kurkapika could hear her ear-splitting scream of agony echoing in the water, disturbing the calm water. The force he had put in the chain was enough to break a person's bone under normal circumstances. The water had provided resistive force to alleviate the impact of his attack, so the mermaid did not break her jaw. Still, out of reflex she let go of her victims and swam away from the danger. Taking his chance, Kurapika took the unconscious Kuroro in his arms and swam to the surface with all his might. It took him much effort because the man was too heavy for him.

_Damn, for a thin-looking man like him, he sure is heavy…Or am I just too thin myself?_ Kurapika wondered in his mind as he focused himself to the surface of the water up there.

Once they reached the surface, he quickly swam towards the bank and lifted himself up the ground first before attempting to extract the older man out of the water. He dragged Kuroro as far away as possible from the water, and finally settled under the shade of a giant tree. He leaned against the massive trunk of the tree, panting and wet, while his eyes were fixed on the lake, searching for the mermaid. Seeing no sign of her, Kurapika looked at Kuroro, who was sprawled unconscious next to him. He looked like he was sleeping peacefully.

_How dare you…_

A voice chimed in the air, and it reached Kurapika's ears like ripple of water. Kurapika looked up and saw the woman at the edge of the water. She glared daggers at Kurapika, who just stared at her warily. Somehow, the woman's magic could not affect him. The mermaid narrowed her beady eyes dangerously and scrutinised him. After a while, something dawned at her and her blue eyes widened, the hostility forgotten.

_Ah, no wonder… You are a girl…_

"I AM A BOY!" Kurapika yelled outrageously, suddenly finding his energy. Even the mermaid mistook him as a girl; he wanted to pull his hair off his scalp.

_Really? _The mermaid asked him dubiously, but there was a curiosity now in her oceanic blue eyes. _Hmm…How old are you?_

"Seventeen." Kurapika answered curtly.

_Mm-hmm…You are such a rare case. But that man…_ The woman gestured at the sleeping Kuroro with a nod of her head. _He is obviously affected by me. I want him; I haven't seen such a good-looking man for a while._

"Unfortunately, I can't give him to you, as much as I'd love to." Kurapika sighed. "He is bound to me by this stupid link." Kurapika lifted his manacled hand up, and as the result Kuroro's right arm was slightly suspended in the air.

_Hm? That's interesting. _The woman smiled mischievously. _How did you end up like that?_

Kurapika frowned at her. Suddenly, the mermaid was taking great interest in them. "That's a long story…"

_I like long stories. Do tell me, child._ The mermaid hauled her torso out of the water and put her full arms on the ground and leaned against the bank, as if preparing herself to hear a good story. Kurapika sighed, but nevertheless told her briefly of their encounter with Hassamunnin the genie.

_Hassamunnin, eh? That bratty genie is on the loose now?_ The mermaid's pretty eyebrows furrowed at this.

"You know him?" Suddenly, Kurapika saw a ray of hope.

_No, not personally. He is just notorious of his pranks._ Or maybe not.

"What are you? How come you can enchant this…ice block of a heartless man?"

_That's my nature. I'm a siren. My name is Rusalka. What's yours, child?_

"Kurapika."

_Kurapika, hm?_ She said the name as if tasting it._ You intrigue me, Kurapika. I like you. _

"Uh…Thanks?" Kurapika grinned uneasily at her.

_And he is?_

"Kuroro Lucifer." Kurapika said the name as if it was a taboo.

_Kuroro Lucifer? _Recognition flashed in her beady eyes. _Does that mean you are heading to the city at the other side of the desert?_

"How do you know that?" Kurapika asked. Just by hearing the man's name, she was able to deduce that? Just how infamous could the man be?

_If you meet a woman by the name Ishtar there, tell her I say hi. Or you can just tell your boyfriend there._

"HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Kurapika roared with indignation, but the siren just giggled.

_Well, until we meet again, Kurapika._ With that, the siren dived back into the water, not without giggling gleefully at his face first. Kurapika groaned in frustration. He felt like punching something, and suddenly Kuroro's face looked like the perfect target. Just as he was thinking so, the said man groaned as if in pain. In fact, the noises Kurapika had made were loud enough to wake the dead.

"Wake up already." Kurapika muttered as he observed the man coming into his senses.

"Tell me what happened." He straightaway demanded. Kurapika rolled his eyes, but nevertheless told him of Rusalka. He skipped the part where she accused him of being a girl and calling Kuroro his boyfriend. If Kuroro heard of it, Kurapika would see no end of his merciless teasing.

"She mentioned of a woman called Ishtar and she wants to send a regard to her."

"Ishtar, huh? That's the person we are going to see." Kuroro massaged his temple with his left hand, trying to clear his head from the residual throbbing sensation from Rusalka's spell.

"Great. If she is acquaintance to a siren, then what is she? A siren too?" Kurapika groaned. He was going to meet yet another weirdo.

"No, definitely not a siren." Kuroro combed his wet hair with his free hand in the usual slicked back style and took off the wet bandage covering his forehead. In an instant he turned back into his Danchou appearance, and it made Kurapika's fists itched to punch him square on the face.

Kurapika frowned at his choice of words; to him it was as if saying that the Ishtar woman was definitely not a human as well. Kurapika, meanwhile, still had his hair all over his face and it was a complete mess. Kuroro looked at him, and was amused to find that the Kuruta looked even more effeminate in such fashion. He leaned closer to peer into his face, but Kurapika flinched away and snarled at him.

"What?" He snapped.

"Come on, let's get moving. We need to get out of this forest soon." Kuroro stood up and pulled Kurapika up by the chain. Due to the motion, Kurapika's sprained wrist screamed in agony, and he gasped in pain. He had totally forgotten about it. Kuroro stopped and gave him a quizzical look.

"I sprained my wrist during the fall there." Kurapika gestured towards the bank with his head. "Give me a minute."

With that, Kurapika summoned his Holy Chain and healed his sprained wrist in no time. Kuroro gave him an interested look and raised an eyebrow. It was a skill that he had never seen from the chain-user. He had seen his Judgment Chain and his Chain Jail, but not the others.

"That's a handy skill you have."

"Why, thank you." Kurapika replied sarcastically and got up. He squeezed the water off his soaked clothes and shook his head to get most of the water off his hair.

"What are you, a dog?" Kuroro commented dryly.

"Shut up and mind your own business." Kurapika coldly replied.

Kuroro just shrugged easily and together, still wet from head to toe, they made their way out of the forest quietly.

* * *

"Why did you save me back then?" Suddenly Kuroro asked. Kurapika stopped poking the fire with a stick and looked at Kuroro with a raised eyebrow.

Both of them had reached the desert, and when the night had approached, Kuroro said that they would camp there, in the middle of desert. Kurapika made no protest or complaints, since he knew that there was nowhere else to camp. It was all sands as far as the eyes could see. They made a small campfire and sat shoulder to shoulder (no other choice because the link remained irritatingly 20 cm) close to the warmth provided by the kind fire.

"And get myself killed as well if I hadn't? No, thanks." Kurapika put down the stick and settled back to the soft sand. "Although I'd be willing to die if I can kill you in the process." He gave Kuroro a quick glare, but returned his attention to the warm fire again.

"So you really have no qualm if your tribe becomes extinct?"

"Of course not! What makes you think—"

"You are the last Kuruta alive. If you die, that's the end of your tribe. For real." Kuroro looked at Kurapika with his dark eyes. There was seriousness in his eyes, something that was foreign to Kurapika. Well, Kurapika had never tried to deliberately look deep into his eyes, but still it made him uneasy.

"I know that."

"Aren't you going to continue your family blood line?" Kuroro asked again casually, as if they had been friends and not enemies.

"What are you getting at?" Kurapika snapped at him as he was losing his patience. In truth, he perfectly knew what Kuroro was talking about. As the last survivor of the Kuruta tribe, he had a burden of conserving their bloodline placed on his shoulders, and that could be done only by producing offspring. However, that could be done later. His vengeance against the Genei Ryodan was still top-priority. He was still only 17 years old, anyway.

"By hunting us, you are placing your life on the line." Kuroro mused. "You should know better how to survive."

"Are you trying to tell me to stop hunting you down, and instead lay low, get married, and have children? I'm so sorry, but that is just impossible. The issue of me preserving my tribe's bloodline can be done AFTER I have finished every single one of you." Kurapika turned and glared at Kuroro with his crimson eyes. This time, the redness was just mild but still it glowed creepily in the cold darkness of the desert.

"You'll get yourself killed before that happens." Kuroro said deadpan.

"Don't underestimate me!" Kurapika snarled at him.

"The same goes to you." He replied calmly, although there was an underlying warning in his tone; and Kurapika did not miss it. Kuroro continued before Kurapika could protest any further. "I suggest that after we are done with this, we go our separate ways and never have anything to do with each other. We will leave you alone and you will leave us alone."

"Do you honestly think that I CAN forget my hatred and bitterness towards you and your lot? You killed ALL my people!" Kurapika began yelling at him. His eyes glowed even redder, as if they were bleeding.

"That is why I am willing to let you go and leave you alone after this." Kuroro sighed, as if tired of their never ending arguments. "Although you have killed two of my comrades."

"They deserve it." Kurapika hissed hatefully.

Kuroro turned to face Kurapika and regarded him with an unreadable expression on his face. Kurapika suddenly felt uneasy for being stared at. Heck, whenever the Genei Ryodan leader was looking his way, he always felt uneasy, as if he was trying to look deep into him and penetrate his carefully constructed barrier layer by layer. It was a terrifying feeling. It made him feel vulnerable.

"How old are you?" He suddenly asked.

"What does that have to do with anything we are talking about?" Kurapika looked at him with disbelieving eyes. The man could just change the topic as if flipping the back of his hand, and he asked such irrelevant question as if it meant the world for him.

"Just answer me." He insisted.

"…Seventeen."

"Still too young to get married." Kuroro shrugged. "No wonder."

"Why the hell are you fussing about me getting married? It has nothing to do with you AT ALL." Kurapika was close to standing up in indignation and kicking the man in his face, but remembering the bind just in time, he aborted it and instead forced himself to sit down still.

"I'm just curious." Kuroro replied nonchalantly, and Kurapika knew that he was being honest.

"Curious my foot. Mind your own business." Kurapika sighed heavily and grumbled as he looked away from the older man. Out of instinct, he reached up and touched his earring with his right hand. He fingered it absentmindedly as he stared into the fire. Suddenly, he was not in the mood to argue with Kuroro anymore. The whole thing just seemed ridiculous. Why the hell was he discussing about getting married and all to that man, of all people?

"You have such a bad temper, Kuruta." Kuroro chuckled good-naturedly.

"Shut up. And stop calling me Kuruta! I have a name…" Kurapika trailed away. He was torn between wanting the man to stop calling him by his tribe name and letting him call him by his given name. The thought of the man calling him by his given name was almost like endearing him to the Spider Head.

"Fine, Kurapika." Of course Kuroro knew his given name. During his brief captive in the Kuruta's hands, the small woman who accompanied him had called him so.

Ignoring Kurapika's incredulous look on his face, his mouth gaping at him unceremoniously, Kuroro readjusted his thick coat and lay down on the sand and turned his back to the still shocked boy. A mischievous grin crept up his lips and he closed his eyes.

* * *

He was awoken yet again by the boy's restless movements next to him. Kuroro wondered if the boy ever slept peacefully for seven nights in a single week. He thought that the boy might be getting one of his frequent nightmares again. If he ever wanted to have decent sleep without getting interrupted in the middle of the night, he might have to deal with the boy's knack of fidgeting in his sleep. Sleepily, Kuroro turned around to give Kurapika an annoyed look, but cancelled it when he saw the boy's state.

Kurapika was sleeping facing his back a mere 20 cm away from him; the allotted space that their magical chain allowed them, curled into a small ball and shivering. He had worn the jacket that they had bought in the small town weeks before, but apparently it was not enough. Well, the boy was thin, so it should be small wonder that the merciless cold of the desert night was torturing him. The temperature had dropped drastically as dusk fell, but Kurapika had not felt that cold due to their earlier debate and arguments. Now that he was lying motionless on the cold ground to get some sleep, the chill started to creep into his body. He involuntarily shivered in his sleep, and kept tossing around to get into a warmer spot and position.

Kuroro observed the boy for a little while, before finally sighing and sat up. He took out his Fun Fun Cloth and fished out a thick blanket. He accidentally tugged at the boy through the link, waking Kurapika up. Groggily, Kurapika pried open his eyes and stared at the man, his eyes asking, "What do you want?"

Wordlessly, Kuroro draped the blanket over them and lay down on his back once again. Kurapika gave him a suspicious look, but as the man said nothing and his gesture had only benefited him, Kurapika said nothing and closed his eyes again, drifting back into a more comfortable and warm sleep.

* * *

Funny, Kuroro thought. He had really thought that the boy hated him with all his heart, but then again there he was, the boy curling next to him, sleeping peacefully. Kuroro remembered the boy was sleeping 20 cm away from him, but when he woke up, the boy was actually snuggled against him, his body unconsciously craving for warmth.

He was planning to get up and wake the boy up, but then he felt a soft stir from the boy. Instinctively, he relaxed his body and waited. He wanted to see the boy's reaction upon seeing that he was nuzzled up against him; his self-proclaimed nemesis. True enough, the boy's reaction had been worth seeing. Kurapika's eyes fluttered open sleepily. The first thing he saw was the black leather fabric of Kuroro's coat. He stiffened for five long seconds, before finally gasping in belated shock and tried to jump away from Kuroro as if he was a plague.

"Awake already?" Kuroro's voice remained even, but inside he was grinning gleefully.

"What…I…" Kurapika stuttered, his face pink and flustered by the compromising sleeping position he had found himself in.

"It seems you can't take the harsh night of this desert. Not used to it?" Kuroro got up and combed his hair casually. When he received no response, he just shrugged and rolled the blanket. The temperature had started to rise so he took off his coat and stored it along with the blanket in his Fun Fun Cloth. He silently gestured at Kurapika to hand him his jacket, since he would not need it during the scorching hot day in the desert. Kurapika wordlessly complied.

The rest of the journey across the desert was bland and monotonous, with the morning routine of light breakfast, the day routine of stopping for a quick lunch, and the night routine of making a small campfire and sleeping under the same blanket. Kurapika no longer made any protests when they had to huddle closer for warmth, since he needed it badly. Occasionally he would consider refusing the blanket and risked freezing to death in his sleep, in the process taking Kuroro with him to Death's door, and most of the time, he would brush aside those dark thoughts. Kuroro seemed to be doing well on his own, and Kurapika begrudgingly knew that the older man actually did not need the blanket but had graciously used it for Kurapika's sake. He knew that the man did that because he had no wish to take care of a sick boy on his way to their destination.

The day time was not as easy as well. Kurapika was sweating profusely, and several times he thought that he would get a severe heat stroke. He had no idea how Kuroro managed to survive while donning his black attire. He should have been baked since long time ago. Fortunately, he managed to go through the daylight ordeals without drawing Kuroro's attention.

"That's the city." Kuroro finally announced one day. They stood on top of a sand dune and from their position they could overlook a portion of the so-called Garbage City. "We should reach the gate by this evening."

"Good." Kurapika said with raspy voice. He himself was surprised to hear his voice. He had not drunk a single drop of water since their lunch.

"Here." Kuroro tossed him their water bottle and said nothing more. Kurapika stared at him for a moment, before gulping down a good portion of the warm water. It was refreshing as the water washed down his dry throat. As he wiped his now wet lips with the back of his hand, Kurapika stared at the man's back again. It bothered him how the man was showing small kindness and tolerance towards him now and then, and Kurapika had to draw a reassurance from the fact that the man had made no effort to get into a comfortable buddy talk with him yet. At least he knew that Kuroro was still distancing himself from him.

They continued their journey down towards the city without exchanging any words. True to Kuroro's prediction, they reached the city's gate by early dusk. With renewed strength, Kurapika walked faster towards the city. When they reached the gate, a hulking man was slouching against the concrete wall of the gate. He appeared to be sleeping, but when they were about 10 metres away from him, he stirred and looked up. His weathered face contorted into a suspecting frown as he looked sharply at Kurapika. Kurapika ignored his hostile stare; he really wanted to get out of the desert badly. Kuroro meanwhile sauntered his way towards the gate.

"You ain't no citizen of Ryuusei-gai." The old man declared as he straightened up. At closer look, Kurapika could see the well-built muscles along his arms and torso. He was the guard of the gate, that much was obvious.

"Relax, Jan. The boy is with me." Kuroro stepped forward.

The old man peeled his gaze off Kurapika and stared to the older man. A flash of recognition lit his wrinkled eyes.

"Kuroro? Boy, look at how you've grown up. The boy with you, eh? No problem then." Suddenly the guard became much friendlier towards them. He then stood up and regarded Kuroro silently while nodding as if appraising a statue. Kuroro said nothing and only gave a small smile to the old man. He then moved towards the gate and unlocked it.

"Seein' the Lady?" The old man asked as Kuroro and Kurapika walked past the gate.

"Yes. There is something I need to ask her." Kuroro answered politely. Judging from the way Kuroro talked to him with respect, and not to mention the old man's familiarity with him, Kurapika knew that the guard had known Kuroro since he was little. Probably he had even seen him growing up.

"She'll be glad to see you again. You're her pride, y'know?" He grinned at him.

Again, Kuroro flashed him a warm 'thank-you' smile, the one that he would have never given to anybody else. Kurapika raised an eyebrow as he saw the drastic change of the Genei Ryodan leader's cold and uncaring demeanour into a warm and kind one. The image just did not fit the Spider Head's picture in Kurapika's mind.

"Make sure the boy behaves here!" The old guard called out to him before the gate slammed closed behind them.

"Of course." Kuroro said with a slight chuckle, and Kurapika was alarmed to hear the mischief in it. He looked up and saw Kuroro grinning at him. "The boy will surely behave, since he is in his enemy's lair."

Kurapika gulped. Maybe the decision to come over to Kuroro's hometown had not been very wise, after all.

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: There it goes… I'm sure that you all know what a mermaid is. As for siren, it's a Greek mythological creature; somewhat like a mermaid but they enchant travellers with their songs to their death (so they shipwrecked their own ships). Rusalka is not a random name, by the way. It's somewhat similar to mermaid and siren but it's from Slavic mythology. For more info you can check them on the net. Poor Kurapika, getting mistaken as a girl by everyone… (evil grin)_

_**Next**__: As they finally reached the notorious Ryuusei-gai, Kurapika managed to catch a glimpse of the life in the so-called garbage dump city. Also, when he finally got to meet the woman called Ishtar, by golly, how surprised he was when he found out about what her relationship with Kuroro Lucifer was. _


	4. Chapter 4: Ishtar

_**Disclaimer**__: Much to my chagrin, I do not own Hunter x Hunter, only some of the OCs._

_**Story so far**__: They finally arrived at Ryuuse-gai, and now was the rare chance to observe the notorious garbage-dumb city from up-close for Kurapika. At the same time, he had to put in his mind that the city was the place where Kuroro Lucifer grew up. And so a tiny-bit fragment of Kuroro's past was revealed here._

* * *

**Chapter 4**

** _ISHTAR_**

* * *

**__**

The sun was setting by the time they reached the Shooting Star City; Ryuusei-gai. The sky was dyed glaring orange, casting a haunting shadow upon the city. Kurapika walked close to Kuroro (unwillingly) as he observed the city life. He had expected the city to be very deprived and poverty-stricken, full of thugs and criminals. He imagined that the city would be dirty, with garbage overflowing everywhere, the pungent stench of rotting trash hanging in the air like dense cloud. What he saw held little evidence for his imagination.

Indeed the structures were poor and all the buildings were dilapidated, some had crumbled into a heap of debris, but the street was relatively clean, with only a few trashes lying here and there. Although the air felt a bit staler compared to the desert's open air, there was no suffocating smell. Kurapika was not too sure about the people, but he noticed a few different kinds of response as the duo marched down the street. The children usually gathered in a group, and they eyed the pair warily. The smaller ones would retreat behind the older ones, while the older ones; mostly the leaders of the groups, would scrutinize them with suspicions. The elders of the city either waved at Kuroro or nodded in acknowledgment to him. A few even exchanged brief greetings with him. The younger ones; those who were around Kuroro's age, looked at him with a mix of envy, or contempt, or admiration. Kuroro ignored most people, only returning greetings if he was greeted, and walked down the street with confident stride.

Kurapika, on the other hand, felt his stomach knotting uncomfortably. He had been receiving hostile and suspecting stares from the citizens, but he tried to ignore them with his best. Instead, he tried to memorise the path that they were taking; the turns, the buildings, the streets. He was jolted when suddenly there was a scream, and was stunned to see a small boy being chased by a grown-up. The boy was holding something close to his chest with both of his hands. Kurapika gaped at the outrageous scene, and out of reflex he attempted to help the boy but Kuroro refused to let him go.

"It's none of your business. After all, that's how life is here." Kuroro gestured at the cat-and-mouse chase of the man and the little boy. "The children are the more productive ones here, finding many things that can fetch good money from the Scavenger's Ground, while some of the adults prefer to rob them instead of scavenging for their selves."

"Have they no shame? Robbing from a child like that!" Kurapika was getting agitated. His eyes were still fixed to the dark alley where the boy and the man chasing after him had disappeared into.

"Do you notice that the children are all in groups?" Kuroro asked again.

"Yes. But—" Suddenly, a loud crashing sound and a man's scream were heard from the alley. Soon, Kurapika heard the cries of the children; cries alike those when children in his village were playing make-believe battles. Children started to pour from the alleys, the small boy ushered by a much older boy, the triumphant smile on their faces.

"None of the children work alone here. For safety and survival, they form groups. When one gets into danger, the others will come to his or her rescue." Kuroro said with bored tone, as if it was nothing remarkable.

Kurapika was only half-listening to Kuroro's explanation, while he observed the children. They were all dressed in plain and, surprisingly, relatively clean clothes. The older ones were better clothed. It was hard to believe that those children had to learn survival skills in such a young age, their rightfully blissful childhood robbed from them.

"Where are the parents?" Kurpika asked, eyes still glued on the celebrating children for their big catch of the day.

"Nowhere. Or rather, nobody claim to be their parents. Parents abandon their children as soon as they are able to walk and talk on their own."

"WHAT? How could they—" Kurapika turned to face Kuroro, to see whether he was just teasing him again or was telling the truth. Much to his dismay, Kuroro was not joking.

"That's for the sake of their survival here." Kuroro continued. "Those children sheltered and protected by their parents are not likely to see adulthood. Children here grow the hard way. The rule of this city is simple: survival of the fittest—and the smartest."

Kurapika gawked at Kuroro. He turned around and looked at the children again. He noticed that despite their harsh childhood, those children were still smiling and laughing. They were supposed to be playing and having fun, but instead they had to scavenge; as Kuroro had said, for their livings, they had to avoid, outrun, and outsmart the grown-up thugs, they had to work for their survivals. They grew up without knowing who their parents were. Comparing it to his own childhood, Kurapika felt so blessed that he had had an easy childhood, the massacre of his tribe put aside. Suddenly, something crossed his mind.

"Was the Genei Ryodan formed the same way?" His question was just a whisper, but Kuroro heard it clearly.

"In a way."

They talked no more. Kurapika did not want to ask more things about the horrible lifestyle of the Shooting Stars City. He had seen enough, and had no wish to probe deeper. Kuroro, on his part, had no intention to actively educate the boy of his hometown. He believed that the boy was smart enough to understand the situation by observation alone. If there was something he really needed to know or confirm, he would ask. If he had not asked, then everything was fine. He was not going to play the spoon-feeding teacher role; as he believed that he was under no obligation to do so, unless the boy inquired first.

Another thought disturbed Kurapika. If what Kuroro said was true, then Kuroro had undergone the same childhood. Such unhappy and harsh childhood, Kurapika could not help but to understand why the Genei Ryodan people; at least those who hailed directly from Ryuusei-gai, grew up to be the heartless and ruthless people they were. They had been trained since the day they could walk. Kurapika tried not to sympathise with his enemy's bad childhood, but instead tried to focus on the heinous acts they had committed. Nevertheless, the image of Kuroro Lucifer as a boy, spending his childhood day as street urchin, always flashed in his mind every time he saw another boy passing them by.

"We are here." Kuroro announced, breaking Kurapika from his deep and dark thoughts. Kurapika looked up and realised that they were standing before a dilapidated building that appeared like an abandoned temple.

Kuroro stopped briefly, regarding the buildings with a look that Kurapika could only name as a reminiscing look. He deduced that the place had something to do with Kuroro's childhood, but said or asked nothing of it. He did not want to know more about his enemies. The more he knew, the more he would understand him. It made him afraid that he would learn not to hate the man. If that day came, that would be the day that he would lose all purpose of life. Wordlessly, Kuroro resumed walking and Kurapika trailed behind him, not more than 20 cm away.

They entered through the main door into a spacious hall. The temple had been grand in its glorious days, but now only chipped marble tiles and ruined wall remained to tell the tale of its abandonment. With sure pace, Kuroro crossed the hall and stopped in front of a statue. Kurapika scrutinised the marble statue. It had been terribly worn by the weathers that it was almost unrecognisable. Parts of it were missing, and Kurapika could not longer figure out the original shape of the statue. He leaned forward with curiosity; his eyes caught a pair of glinting red gems attached on the statue. They seemed uncannily clean and new; as if weather and time had not touched it. Kuroro observed him with amusement.

"Don't get too close to it, or it will bite you to death." Kuroro said, his tone far from a warning.

Before Kurapika could digest the meaning of his words, the ruby stones suddenly blinked. Kurapika gasped in surprise and jumped a pace away from the statue. He looked at the pair of gems and he felt like a fool. The gems had been a pair of eyes; a snake's eyes. The enormous snake slithered sluggishly from the statue, its scale blended perfectly with the background colour like a camouflage. It raised its massive head and hovered lazily in the air while sniffing the air with its long, forked tongue. It turned its attention to Kuroro, who was standing closest to it. Kuroro remained calm as the dangerous-looking serpent eyed him with its beady eyes.

_You are bacckkssss…_The snake spoke in a hiss.

Kurapika's eyes widened in shock and horror. _Not again_, he thought as he inwardly groaned in exasperation. Another magical creature. So far he had encountered a genie, a siren, and now a talking snake. What else would he see in the near future? Maybe the next time he saw a dragon, he would not be too surprised. Suddenly the world seemed big and new to the young Kuruta.

"Let us pass, Basille. We wish to see the Lady." Kuroro said to the snake.

_Indeeddddss…The Lady has already informed me of your arrivallssssss…_The snake flicked its forked tongue at Kuroro, who was unfazed by the snake's unnerving behaviour.

The snake uncoiled itself from the statue and dropped soundly to the dusty floor. It wrapped its enormous body about the statue, and with an otherworldly strength, dragged the massive statue from its spot to reveal a gaping hole beneath. The smell of musty air rushed out of the hole.

_Enteersss…The Lady awaitssss…_It hissed again. This time, the snake was looking at Kurapika curiously. Unwilling to be seen as a coward, Kurapika braced himself and stood firm on his ground. The snake regarded him briefly and licked the air around the boy, before finally looked away from him and hovered about the hole.

"Come on." Kuroro tugged at the manacle.

"We are going in there?" Kurapika asked unsurely.

"Afraid?" Kuroro teased him, a mischievous smile on his lips.

"No." The boy snapped irritably at the older man.

Kuroro only chuckled. They stood by the hole and in perfect unison they jumped into the hole. Immediately, cold air bit Kurapika's face as they descended into thick darkness. Losing all sense of direction and sight, he only knew that they were still falling downwards. Kuroro seemed perfectly calm by his side, and Kurapika knew that the man was looking at him despite the blinding darkness. The free fall went on in what seemed like a forever, before Kuroro suddenly spoke up.

"Now."

Understanding the meaning of his one word belatedly, Kurapika braced his feet for the sudden landing late. Kuroro's feet touched the ground smoothly like a cat, but Kurapika's landing was loud. His legs screamed in pain as a paralyzing shock coursed up his legs, while he choked a loud gasp as he felt his leg bones 'compressed' upon impact. He wobbled but the chain linking his wrist to Kuroro's provided the support he needed from falling flat to the ground. Kuroro noticed the strong pull from his right wrist and looked at Kurapika with a raised eyebrow; a gesture that Kurapika was getting annoyed at.

"You okay?" He asked. His voice echoed softly in the damp darkness.

"And why do you care?" Kurapika muttered rudely, feeling his legs as the pain was going away. Secretly he thanked the pitch darkness, because had it been as bright as daylight, Kuroro would have seen the expression on his face; which he was dead sure looked like a complete fool.

Kuroro shrugged and waited until Kurapika seemed okay with his legs. They resumed walking in darkness together, the only sound heard was their footsteps. The dark underground reminded Kurapika of the underground cave in the unnamed ruin where Hassamunnin the genie was sealed; and where his bombastically tragic fate of being stuck with the accursed Genei Ryodan leader started. After a few minutes, finally Kuroro broke the silence.

"It seems that Basille likes you." He said absentmindedly.

"Who?"

"Basille. The snake. She is a basilisk appointed as guardian of this place, and usually won't allow anyone to enter except those she knows. But she lets you pass without even questioning or testing you."

"Oh, I'm so honoured." Kurapika said sarcastically. "But who are we seeing, to have a basilisk as a pet?"

Kurpika's suspicions rose again. Whoever they were going to see, it had to be someone powerful. Basilisks are the real deals. He overheard the mafia bosses once challenging each other to capture a basilisk alive. Kurapika had thought that it was just some legend, since nobody had ever caught a basilisk alive. Why, those who encountered one mostly died from their lethal breath and gaze.

"Ishtar, the Lady of Ryuusei-gai."

As he mentioned her name, suddenly they already reached the end of the dark tunnel. An imposing door stood before them; relief was carved unto the door, telling an ancient story forgotten by Man. Kuroro knocked at the door and waited. The knocking sound echoed in the cold darkness.

"Enter." A soft voice was heard clearly from the chamber behind the door, as if the door was non-existence and the person was speaking directly to them. Kuroro pushed the door open, and a gush of clean and fresh air escaped from the chamber. A whiff of sweet smelling fragrance escaped from the sealed chamber, and it immediately relaxed Kurapika's tense body.

Kuroro walked into the chamber, dragging the relaxed Kuruta along. As they entered, the massive door closed by itself behind them. Kurapika looked around the chamber. It was a great, spacious room, with sparse furniture. In fact, the only furniture in the room were the ridiculous number of cushions of various size, colour, and shape piled on the floor by the walls, and maroon curtains of different size and thickness. There, at the end of the chamber between two great curtains, a lady was sitting comfortably on a pile of king-sized pillows and cushions.

The woman had a regal air around her, with a mass of black curly hair framing her ethereal visage. The hair fell on her shoulder and covered half of her face, the colour a stark contrast against her deathly pale skin. She was holding a hookah on her right hand, faint wisp of smoke escaping from the ancient looking pipe. Her eyes were a pair of flawless obsidian orbs, with a depth that knew no end. She wore a black tube dress, with silk scarf draped over her delicate shoulder. The skirt of her dress was overflowing on the floor, hiding her legs. She looked at them with interested eyes.

Kuroro kept walking in an easy stride across the chamber. Her dark eyes were fixed on the woman. Kurapika followed close behind him, unsure of how he should behave. One glance, and he knew that the woman was not someone to mess with. Perhaps it would be best to let Kuroro handle the situation from now on. Kuroro stopped as he stood in front of her, and now that they were just a few metres a way from her, Kurapika realised that the faint fragrance that he inhaled earlier was much stronger. He recognised it as sandalwood fragrance.

"What are you waiting for? Grab some of those pillows and settle down. This is your home, after all." The woman said as she motioned towards the pile of cushions scattered on the floor while she cocked her head sideways with amusement on her face. The amused smile she had was so identical to Kuroro's that Kurapika almost cringed rudely at the sight.

Without saying anything, Kuroro took some of the pillows quickly and sat down. Kurapika reluctantly did the same and settled down. He looked at Kuroro, and then to the woman. The woman looked at him with great interest evident in her dark eyes.

"It is highly unusual of you to bring a companion here. And an unusual person, no less." She said, her voice high and pleasing.

"He is Kurapika, the last of the Kuruta tribe." Kuroro introduced the boy, the first time he spoke since they entered the chamber. Kurapika flinched as the man mentioned his tribe, but the fact that Kuroro sounded wary did not escape Kurapika's keen observation.

"Oh? _He_ is the last survivor?" There was a slight emphasis in her sentence. "And I heard you went all the way to Rukuso Region to drive the tribe into extinction by harvesting their priced eyes. What are you trying to do, take responsibility?" She slipped the hookah into her mouth and inhaled the sandalwood-fragranced incense.

Her words hit Kurapika like hammer. He tensed up and his face bleached. Kuroro sat motionless by his side, undisturbed by Kurapika's rigid manner. He frowned slightly at her, as if unhappy by her small dilly-dally talk.

"Ishtar, you know what I am here for. With your True Vision…" He said with even voice.

"Of course, Kuroro. Of course I know." She waved a hand impatiently. "Entertain me for a while, won't you?" She waited for a response, but when she saw none forthcoming, she sighed "Who did it?"

"A genie called Hassamunnin."

"Hassamunnin?" She frowned. "He is supposed to be sealed. You two broke the relic." She accused them mildly.

"We did." Kuroro nodded. There was a slight pause before he added, "While we were fighting.", as he cast a quick glance at the Kuruta sitting next to him. Kurapika ignored him and stared at the woman with unreadable expression.

"I see." Again, she inhaled the incense. The smoke escaped her thin lips like a thin curtain of smoke. "You want me to dissolve the spell." It was more like a question than a statement.

"Yes." The man responded curtly. Kurapika glanced at him uneasily. Somehow, he had the impression that Kuroro was not happy to be in the room with the woman, although he looked as calm and composed as ever. It was like he wanted to get away from her presence as soon as possible. He had never seen this side of the cold and ever-composed man. Was he terrified of her? Him, the annoyingly unbeatable leader of Genei Ryodan?

"Kuroro, my boy, it is not that easy. There are rules that we have to abide by; rules that not even _I_ can violate." She said dramatically with mock exasperation. "But I can make the conditions less…confining."

"That's good enough. And I need information…"

"On how to find Hassamunnin and make him remove the spell." She finished for him "Of course. I will give you that." She nodded impatiently. "Now off you go to the dreamland."

With that, she blew a thick smoke of her sandalwood incense towards them. The smoke surrounded them, and both of them choked and coughed as they involuntarily inhaled the strong smelling smoke. In no time, Kurapika felt his head spinning and dizzy, but at the same time it felt nice; as if he was floating.

"What—" He lost his awareness and slumped against the soft pillows. Kuroro coughed and gave Ishtar an annoyed look, before finally succumbing to darkness.

Ishtar looked at the two for a moment, regarding them with solemn eyes. Her gaze lingered on the sleeping Kuroro, and she sighed heavily. She pinched the bridge of her nose and massaged it gently. A soft slithering sound was heard, and a giant snake coiled itself around the lady. Its enormous head hovered in front of her face, its beady ruby eyes blinked at her curiously.

_Why are you upseeetttssssss?_ It hissed as it licked the air with its forked tongue.

"I wish he doesn't treat me like I am a plague…" She stroked the snake's head affectionately. "But it was my fault that he hates me now." She mused quietly.

Basille looked at her with her great eyes, and then turned to the two sleeping figure.

_What about the child with him?_ She asked as she slithered towards them. With one swift movement, Basille surrounded the two in one complete loop of her massive body. It hovered about Kurapika and observed him quietly.

"Ah, yes… Basille, bring them closer to me." Ishtar put down her hookah and straightened up. The snake obediently dragged them; the two of them together with the load of pillows, closer to Ishtar so that she did not have to get up in order to touch them. She leaned forwards and touched Kurapika's face delicately. She traced his jaw line with a long finger, until her attention fell on his earring. She touched it gingerly and observed it closely. When she was satisfied, she pulled back and inhaled a round of her sandalwood incense. As she puffed out a screen of thin smoke, she pulled out a small box from among the pile of cushions. She opened it and produced a small vial containing deep blue liquid. She leaned forward and opened Kurapika's mouth. With a small pipette, she put a drop of the liquid to his tongue.

"Wake up, child." She whispered to him. In no time, Kurapika stirred and groaned.

His eyes fluttered open and he clutched his head. The spinning sensation was still lingering, and his body felt strangely relaxed. It felt as if he had been awaken from a very deep slumber, and was having a sleep hangover. Kurapika shook his head to get rid of the clouds in his head, but still it lingered. The sandalwood incense was making him rather sleepy as well.

"Why are you doing this?" Came the pleasant voice from right in front of him.

As Kurapika looked up, he was confronted by Ishtar's gypsum pale face. There was a curiosity in her big eyes, and she was peering at him closely.

"Doing what?" Kurapika asked back.

"Assuming another self, instead of living as your true self. What are you planning to do?"

Kurapika's eyes widened in shock. He stared into the endless abyss of her eyes, they sucked him in, coaxing him to tell the truth, telling him that lying was futile. Kurapika's mouth parted slightly, but no words came out.

"I can see the truth, child. My True Vision betrays me nothing." She straightened up and drew the curtain of hair that concealed her other eye. It revealed an entirely white eyeball, with faint swirling silver threads, like the colour of fine marble. The colour seemed alive on its own, endlessly swirling and coiling, revealing another dimension. Kurapika gulped hard as he saw it; he knew that the woman before him was someone on completely different level. And inhuman.

"What are you?" He asked in a quiet whisper.

Ishtar gave him a mystifying smile, but did not answer him. "That's for you to find out. Although I doubt you can find it out on your own." She chuckled amusedly. "But back to my question, are you really okay with this?"

Kurapika looked at her warily. Knowing that the woman could see the truth, no matter how eloquently one lied, really put him under great pressure. Especially when she was asking for top-rate classified secret. Somehow, he understood why Kuroro did not like being around her. When she stared at him, it felt like he was being peeled layer by layer like an onion, all his defence useless before her, until she finally reached the core of his soul, where all truths were laid bare. His soul felt naked before her. When he looked at those marble eyes, the stripped-off feeling was intensified. He had to look away from her.

"Ah, pardon my intrusion." Ishtar let go of her hand and her hair fell back to cover her milky eyes. They then fell into a deafening silence. Ishtar took her time observing the Kuruta's reaction to her words.

"You are lying to your self, and I don't think it's healthy. What drives you to do such pitiful action?" She asked again, this time her voice was much gentler, and there was a hint of concern.

"Pitiful? This is for my own safety." Kurapika answered. Oh, the incense was making him light-headed.

"Safety? So that you can survive long enough to get your revenge on the Genei Ryodan?" Ishtar took her hookah and inhaled again.

"Yes. I need to make them pay for killing my entire clan. Before that, I will never be able to rest in peace." He answered monotonously, like a rehearsed speech.

"Hmm… Even by sacrificing your true self? Isn't that the same as killing your own self? Your soul is tortured by the shadow of your past, by the hatred that haunts you like a plague, and by your own self-denial. Why deny your true self? You will regret this in the future." She said in a quiet, serene voice. She closed her eyes briefly. "Your body may still be alive, but your soul may be dead at one point of time. Are you okay with that?"

"…I have made my decision." Kurapika pressed his eyes closed and gritted his teeth. He knew the price was heavy, but it was not like he had any other better choice. Ishtar regarded him for a while, judging him quietly.

"I see." She said as she blew a thin curtain of smoke.

"Don't tell anyone." Kurapika suddenly said, with urgency in his voice. "Especially him." He said with a much quieter voice as he glanced at the still sleeping Kuroro. Ishtar let her eyes lingered about Kurapika for a while, before nodding.

"Very well."

"May I ask you something?" Kurapika asked again, his voice unsure.

"Ask me, and I will answer if I can or if I see as fit." She said with the subtle authority in her tone. Kurapika hesitated for a moment, and then glanced again at Kuroro tentatively.

"Are you his mother?"

Ishtar blinked at his question, and stayed muted for a few seconds before breaking into the most captivating yet sorrowful smile he had ever seen of her. She chuckled softly.

"I wish I were." She said in an almost whisper. "I raised him, but the boy won't call me mother. I don't think he will ever do." She shook her pretty head and her curly mass of black hair bounced about her face gently.

"You raised him? But he said children were abandoned here in Ryuusei-gai." Kurapika frowned at the contradiction.

"Indeed that is the unspoken law laid by the citizens. In his case…" Her voice trailed away and her gaze fell on Kuroro. She looked at him with longing eyes, but sighed once again. "I won't tell you anymore."

"Huh?" Kurapika had thought that the lady was eager to tell him of her relation with Kuroro, but suddenly something occurred to her and she changed her mind.

"Regarding his past, his childhood, his history, it is not my right to tell them to you. If you want to know, ask him." She said firmly, her tone decisive.

"Oh…"

Somehow, Kurapika was rather disappointed. It was not like he was eager to know Kuroro better, but he had been confused, befuddled. Here, in front of him, was a woman, a refined lady, who was inhuman (so far he could tell), yet was very gentle and mother-like towards Kuroro, the ruthless and cold-blooded killer, who had murdered his entire clan just for their eyes. The presence of a mother figure did not match Kuroro's bloodthirsty nature of a murderer. Something was not right of his upbringing, or his past, and it bothered him. He wanted to know why. What had moulded him into the murderer he was? He also noticed Kuroro's effort to set a distance between him and the lady, while the lady tried to bridge the chasm. It was ironic, and it definitely irritated him. Kuroro had taken her for granted, while Kurapika was craving for a mother figure himself; for his mother had been brutally murdered 5 years ago by Kuroro's order.

"Well, I am done talking with you." Ishtar inhaled another round of her incense and blew it towards Kurapika. Again, the smoke surrounded his head and it cajoled him into a dizzying sleepiness. Before he succumbed into deep slumber, he heard Ishtar's distant voice.

"Don't worry, I won't tell him of our secret little talk."

* * *

"How many years has it been?" She leaned against the soft pillow behind her and closed her eyes. "Ten?"

"Close to it." Kuroro answered coldly. He had been surprised to find himself in close proximity to her when he woke up from his incense-induced sleep. But then again, he really should not have been surprised.

"And you never visited me, not even contacted me once." She sighed.

Kuroro said nothing, but merely looked at the sleeping Kuruta. He had never deliberately observed the boy closely when he was sleeping, but this time, he noticed something. It was either he was hallucinating due to her incense, or he was just seeing it for the first time. The boy looked very feminine when he was sleeping; no scowls and frowns, just the innocent face of 17 years-old boy. It was like he had transformed into an entirely different person. Ishtar noticed his sudden interest in the boy and chuckled.

"Tell me more about that child."

"…There is nothing more that I can tell you about him. I've told you all I know. Now enough of this small talk." He demanded impatiently.

"Impatient as ever, Kuroro?" She shook her head dramatically once again. Kuroro gave her a glacial glare, but said nothing. She sighed again. "Fine, fine. You are such a difficult child."

Before Kuroro could protest, Ishtar blew another curtain of smoke to induce sleep in him. As soon as Kuroro had fallen into deep, undisturbed slumber, Ishtar straightened up. She looked at the magical manacles linking the two sworn enemies.

"Come out, Hassamunnin. I know you are there."

_You got me, lady. You are as sharp as ever. You have my utmost respect._ A ball of faint blue light extracted itself from the magical chain and floated in the air. The small genie appeared in a puff of blue smoke and bowed at her in a gentlemanly manner. Ishtar laughed at his pretended good nature.

"Don't try to woo me, Hassamunnin. You know it will not work on me." She smiled at him. "Now, let's get down to business, shall we? You know what I want."

_Tsk, I bet the boy learned his manner from you._ The genie pouted and crossed his arms across his chest unhappily.

"You think so?" Ishtar leaned back against her pillow lazily, but inwardly she was happy to hear that. "Now for the business."

_I won't break the bind. I want to see how their story will end. _The genie stated firmly, and nothing would change his decision. _Besides, I stay true to my spell!_

"I know as much, boy." Ishtar inhaled and exhaled her incense. "But even I am interested in how their relationship will develop. Sworn enemies bound by chain that intertwined each other's life. One dies if the other one dies. How ironic."

_So what do you specifically want me to do?_

"What can you do for me?"

_Hmm…_The genie turned around and regarded the two sleeping form. _Maybe I can do something about the chain._

Ishtar raised an eyebrow. "Elaborate."

_You see there._ He pointed at the magical chain. _They are restricted to the chain in their wrist. I can change the restriction to involve the entire body parts, not only their wrists._

"Meaning they can now move their hands freely and are still restricted to the distance of their link, but in a more flexible manner."

_Yes. Be it their legs, or arms, or even hair, as long as they are in the allotted space the link gives them, it will be fine. _The genie nodded.

"Hmm… That's good enough. Do it."

With a pout due to annoyance of being ordered around, the genie turned around and did his work with a swipe of his hand. The chain disappeared, but in exchange, their entire body was surrounded by thin layer of Hassamunnin's aura (or curse, as they dubbed it). Satisfied with his handiwork, the genie turned around to Ishtar to await some praises.

"Well done." She said. "Thank you for the answering my request."

_Oh, it's nothing really. I will do anything to please you, my lady._ Again, he bowed respectfully. _But I really have no idea why someone of your office would want to invest most of you time and energy to raise a mortal child._ He said again as he looked at Kuroro with a new interest. _Why?_

"Why, indeed?" She put a hand and leaned her chin against her palm, her elbow rested on the fluffy pillow while her other hand was still holding the hookah. She closed her eyes and recalled the night that she had met Kuroro for the first time. The rain, the lifeless bodies, the blood, the look on his face, those eyes. She still remembered all vividly, as if it was only yesterday.

"Maybe I fell in love with him at the first sight." She whispered to herself.

_With a kid?_ Now Hassamunnin sounded genuinely surprised, if not mortified. _I never knew you are a paedophile._

"Not in that sense, you idiot." Ishtar glared daggers at him. The genie shuddered as her eyes penetrated him. If looks could kill, he would have been mutilated into unrecognisable pieces by then.

_Well…If you have nothing else to do with me, I'll be off…_

"Hassamunnin?" She called at the genie before he dissolved into a blue smoke.

_Yeah?_

"You'll be keeping an eye on them?"

_Of course._

"Come to me immediately…" She hesitated for a second. "…if it happens…"

The genie regarded the lady for a while. The regal woman, Lady of the Ryuusei-gai, eyed the sleeping Kuroro Lucifer, head of the Genei Ryodan, with a motherly look. And she was not even a human. The genie's face softened.

_I understand. You really do care about this kid, don't you?_

"He is my boy." She smiled gently.

_Say…_ The genie looked hesitantly at Kuroro. _Does he know of what you really are?_

"No, he doesn't."

_I wonder what he will feel…_A mischievous yet thoughtful smile graced his impish face. _If he knows that he has been raised by a Medusa?_

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: For those who anticipate humours, I'm sorry if this chapter is very dark and is lacking humours. We're talking about Ryuusei-gai here, so I think it can't be helped (I guess?). Lots of things to explain here. First, Scavenger's Ground is the name of the garbage dump where the Ryuusei people scavenge for goods. I just dubbed it on my own =P Also, Ishtar's the name of some goddess, but she's not a goddess in this story. Sandalwood fragrance is also said to attract snakes, so yeah, I think it'll be suitable since Ishtar is a medusa and she has a basilisk as a pet. This past of Kuroro is entirely made up by me, so for those who disagree with this, forgive me…-_ - Isthar is an enigma, no? Hehehe… As for her first meeting with Kuroro, I'll write it down on another chapter. The True Vision is also made up by me._

_**Next**__: Ishtar warned Kuroro that an abnormality might happen with Kurapika, but would not say exactly what. Which left Kuroro wondering about it. Who would have guessed that his wonderings would be answered so soon, and so accidentally?_


	5. Chapter 5: Kurapika's True Self

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter._

_**Story so far**__: So, they did meet Ishtar and she had somewhat helped them with the manacle. Main problem still wasn't solved, though, and they had to practically travel around to world in search of a mythical creature stronger than the genie to lift that particular spell of inconvenience. Apparently, Kuroro was warned by Ishtar that Kurapika would undergo some changes and he was to notify her when it happened. Problem was he did not know what kind of changes would occur._

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**_KURAPIKA'S TRUE SELF_**

* * *

**__**

Kuroro looked at his sleeping companion silently. He observed his facial structure carefully, taking note that the more he looked at the boy, the more he felt that the boy had somewhat changed. The scowls and the frowns were still there whenever he made comments that angered or irritated the boy, but he was not talking about those. Something he could not really pinpoint exactly about him was changing, and he did not know whether it was for the better or the worse.

They had been travelling together for about two weeks now, and they had learned to trust each other to a certain (small) extent. For one, they had reached an agreement that they would not try to strangle each other to death in their sleep. This way, they could sleep more peacefully at night. After they had done with their business in Ryuusei-gai, particularly with Ishtar, they had left the city immediately. Jan was quite disappointed to see him leaving so early, and had told him that some of the elders of the Council wanted to talk to him. Kuroro had to decline. The prospect of talking with the Council with Kurapika in tow was not wise. He could come back again next time, when they were finally free from the bind.

Ishtar had told them about her negotiation with Hassamunnin. The genie refused to remove the bind, so they had no choice but to find another genie, or another magical being, with power exceeding Hassamunnin and had them to revoke the spell. She gave them a pair of ring which would serve to tell them if a mythical being was close by. It meant that they would have to travel randomly from places to places, in other words, travel around the world. Aside from that, something was also bothering him. Before they left, Ishtar had whispered something to him.

"_When there is an abnormal change to that child, call me immediately. Understood?" _

He wanted to protest, but he heard the finality in her voice. No matter how much he wanted to defy her, when she had issued an order to him, he had to comply. He knew from her tone that the matter was important, and it would be best for him to follow her advice, considering that after all she possessed the True Vision. Which made Kuroro wondered, what was wrong with the boy? If Ishtar was very serious about it, it had to be something critical but she would not tell him. So far, nothing had happened.

Another thing that he noticed; the link between them had expanded. He did not know whether the Kuruta boy noticed it or not, but the distance allotted between them had expanded from by about 20 cm. He knew that the change had been on Kurapika's part. After all, it was not like he hated the boy. In fact, he was interested with his boundless potential, not to mention his versatile Nen. He had even thought of making him join the Ryodan. He learned his lessons, though, and was now aware that the boy was smart and would not be easily swayed by his persuasion. It was near impossible, if not impossible already.

A distant rustle of bushes alerted Kuroro. He narrowed his eyes, trying to penetrate the darkness of the forest around them but saw nothing. The wind blew, caressing his raven hair. It might be just some wild nocturnal animals, but then again he had to make sure. It could be bandits, or even worse; bounty hunters. He deployed his En to scan the surroundings, just in case. Even if the ones after them were Nen-users who were in Zetsu state, they still could not escape his En. True enough, he detected a few people, scattered around them preparing for an ambush.

"Wake up." He tapped Kurapika's shoulder lightly. The boy was a light sleeper; a tap on the shoulder was all he needed to snap open his eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked sleepily with slight irritation. It bemused Kuroro how even the simplest gesture made by him could provoke the boy's irritation.

"We have uninvited guests. Get ready." He commanded out of habit in his days with the Genei Ryodan members.

The Kuruta grumbled unhappily but still he obeyed him with a deep frown. He sat up lazily, pretending that he was not alert, while in fact he was as awake as he was in daylight. "Who?"

"I don't know yet. Maybe bounty hunters, or merely bandits." Kuroro shrugged, and resumed his normal sitting stance. They waited while pretending that they were just sitting by the kindling campfire.

"Don't kill anyone." Kurapika suddenly said as he gazed at the ember.

Kuroro gave him a quizzical look. "Here we go."

As if answering to his cue, people leaped from the bushes around them, all of them aiming their weapons for the pair. In unison, both jumped to avoid being skewered or cleaved, but at different power input. Kuroro jumped further, as the result dragging Kurapika with him since their link remained 40 cm only. Kurapika stumbled and bumped into him. He lost his footing and had to cling to Kuroro; leaning to his chest, to be exact, to prevent him from falling, while Kuroro had to hold him by his elbow.

"Klutz." Kuroro grinned.

"Shut up." Kurapika snapped and hurriedly detached himself from Kuroro. He straightened up and scanned the faces of their assaulters.

"Well well, look at who we have here." One of the men, a brawny man wearing sleeveless shirt, spoke up. "Kuroro Lucifer with his girlfriend!"

"I'M A BOY!" Kurapika yelled at them, enraged. Kuroro, who by then was already accustomed to Kurapika's yelling every time someone mistook him as a girl, only snickered. Kurapika turned at him with glaring eyes.

"I honestly think you should put an announcement on your forehead saying: I'm a boy." He said teasingly.

"Shut up, jerk." Kurapika felt his face burning.

"Whatever it is, you are unlucky, boy. Tonight we're gonna get our rewards on his head, but I think you'll have to come along." The muscle man said again as he advanced towards them.

"So you are bounty hunters." Kuroro said, confirming his suspicion. "I'm sorry, gentleman, but I have no intention on letting myself get captured by you."

"You know what?" The man smirked. "The bounty says: 'Dead or Alive'."

"Hmm…Interesting." Kuroro brought a hand to cover his mouth, mocking a thinking gesture.

Kurapika rolled his eyes in exasperation. He could not believe what an idiot that brawny man was. Even the whole bunch of them would not stand a chance of defeating Kuroro Lucifer. Heck, even he could take care of all of them all at once singlehandedly; and they had the audacity of claiming that they could kill him if necessary for the sake of the bounty.

"This will be the first time we fight side by side."

"True." Kurapika grimaced; usually they always tried to wring each other's necks. "Think we are at disadvantage?"

"No. I think it's a good chance to measure our compatibility in battle."

"What?"

Before Kuroro could elaborate more, the men had lost their patience and all attacked them in unison. They were completely surrounded in a circle. They could not break away because of the bind, but they could not risk jumping up, since when they were airborne, they were more vulnerable that way. It left Kurapika with only one option. He summoned his Dowsing Chain and had it form a helix shield around them. The Nen chain managed to block all attacks, and with a push, deflected all of them. The men were taken aback by his little trick, their mouth hanging open like a drawer with loose hinge.

"Can you fight with your right hand only?" Suddenly Kuroro asked.

"I think so. Why?" Kurapika did not look at him as he asked, his eyes fixed on the enemies, although he really wanted to shake some explanation out of the older man.

"Good. Then we'll have to fight like this." He suddenly grabbed Kurapika's left hand with his left hand. Kurapika jolted violently from the sudden touch with the Spider Head, but Kuroro ignored it. He shifted and stood facing the opposite direction from Kurapika. "The bind restricts our movements. It will be easier if we hold hands."

Kurapika understood what Kuroro was talking about. If they fought on their own without any physical link, they would tend to forget about the magical link and it might result in reckless moves. If they held hands, they would always be within the allotted space, and therefore they would be less likely to commit any foolish mistakes. Kuroro's big hand totally enveloped Kurapika's smaller hand, and he gripped his hand firmly. Even if Kurapika was not holding his hand back, he knew he would not slip out of his grip. Kurapika's arm went rigid for a while, as if it had been diseased upon touch with Kuroro Lucifer, but he forced his arm to relax. In any case, he could not afford to be distracted by mere physical touch when there were bounty hunters after them.

"Fine." Kurapika nodded and held his hand back in response most reluctantly. Kuroro took out his Benz dagger, while Kurapika took his tanto. They bent their knees slightly into a fighting pose.

"Let the party begins."

* * *

He wiped the blood from his face and changed his blood-smeared clothes with the clean one. When he was done, he looked around the surrounding. Lifeless bodies were scattered everywhere, not to mention the blood and gore. He sat down on a fallen tree trunk and turned to look at his unconscious companion.

He had been surprised to find that the Kuruta had been willing to fully cooperate in the battle. He had not expected that level of compatibility between them, considering the kid's hell bent hatred towards him. What annoyed him was that the boy tried not to kill a single man, all because of his ridiculous sense of morality. It was a mistake on Kurapika's part, and in the end, he had to pay for it.

One of the brutes that the boy thought he had knocked senseless got up again and attacked him. Kurapika barely dodged the knife, the blade missing his cheek by less than an inch and instead it struck his earring. He gasped in surprise, momentarily losing his concentration and the men took his chance to slash at him, cutting the front of his shirt open. The next fraction of second, Kurapika's face was contorted into an expression of pure rage and delivered a kick to the man's solar plexus. The man doubled up, and without mercy Kurapika drove a hit with the butt of his tanto's hilt hard on the back of the man's head. Kuroro heard the cracking sound, and was sure that Kurapika had fractured the skull; making the man his first kill as he would later check. Apparently Kurapika's hit had caused a severe internal bleeding in his head.

As Kuroro sent two more men to meet their maker, he noticed the Kuruta behaving strangely. He started to wobble, mumbling "my earring" like a mad man while clutching his ear that was now missing the dangling trinket. Annoyed by the boy's lack of concentration, Kuroro yanked Kurapika towards him and turned to gave him a warning look but was surprised to see the sheer fear in the boy's blue eyes.

"What's wro—"

Suddenly, Kurapika collapsed. With his reflex, Kuroro managed to catch him in his left arm and held him closely. He had no idea why the Kuruta fainted out of the blue. He was sure the boy was not scratched at all, so he scratched out the idea of being poisoned from the list. As he heard the cry of battle from the remaining hunters, he 'tsk'ed and decided to inspect and interrogate the boy later. With his left arm holding the limp Kuruta by his stomach awkwardly, Kuroro finished the other men with one clean cut on each throat. He was surprised to feel Kurapika's feather-light weight in his arm.

When he had made sure that all the hunters were dead, he dropped the boy to the nearest tree trunk and inspected for any cause that had made the Kuruta passed out. He checked arms, legs, and face, but nothing. As he moved on to check his neck, he realised the boy's shirt had been ripped from a knife cut and noticed something that was not supposed to be there. A thought flashed in his mind, and Kuroro's face bleached. He swore that he had a really bad karma. There, beneath Kurapika's torn shirt, he spotted two (albeit small) bumps on the chest.

Kurapika Kuruta was really a girl.

* * *

Kuroro covered his mouth with his left hand in a brooding manner, the elbow supported by his laps, while his eyes were glued at a certain sleeping Kuruta. Now he knew why he always felt something was out of place when he looked at the Kuruta. He had a gut feeling that the kid was more than meet the eyes; and it was literally true. Kuroro pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and stared at it with his dark eyes hesitantly. This was what Ishtar had meant. She knew that Kurapika was truthfully a girl; and no doubt through her True Vision. He fingered the buttons with his thumb tentatively, wondering whether he should give her a call or not. After all, he was now dealing with a girl, and he needed her advice. He had never handled a female before, leave alone a teenage girl. Oh he did interact with some females; Machi, Shizuku, and Pakunoda, but they were all different cases. Kuroro Lucifer had never even touched a woman in his life. He was never interested in them, except if they displayed unusual potential as fighters and only then he might be interested to recruit them.

"No." He whispered to himself as he pocketed back his cell-phone. "I will handle this myself, see how things turn out first. If I can handle everything on my own, then there is no need to call her." He turned to look at the still unconscious Kurapika again.

"Really, you are a total headache for me, always putting me in predicaments. First you killed Uvo, and then captured me and rendered me powerless with your Judgment Chain. Then we get stuck together like this, and now it turns out that you are a girl." He mused. A smile graced his cold face.

_You are really an interesting kid, Kurapika. So full of surprises, you never bore me_, he thought amusedly.

A soft groan from Kurapika broke Kuroro's soliloquy and she stirred. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared to the darkened sky in a daze. Slowly she turned her head, observing her surrounding. As she spotted the dead bodies, she stiffened. Kurapika blinked twice, trying to register the event that was happening before she passed out.

"Awake now?" Kuroro asked in his emotionless voice possible, gaining her attention.

Kurapika tilted her head up, seeing Kuroro in an upside-down manner. She stared at him with wide eyes, disbelieving look was obvious. There were doubts in her eyes as well. Kuroro looked into her eyes straight, trying to decipher her thoughts.

"Did you find out?" She asked in a whisper.

"What do you mean?" He asked, pretending to be clueless, but his grin betrayed him.

"Don't play dumb!" She snapped and tried to get up, but stopped with a chocked gasp as their 40-cm-alloted-space restricted her from moving further from Kuroro. With a hiss, she readjusted her position to sit down on the tree trunk next to him at the maximum 40 cm distant away from Kuroro. Seeing that her front shirt was ruined, she clutched it with her hands and looked down.

"For how long already?"

Kurapika frowned at herself, and looked hesitant to answer but Kuroro waited patiently. "Five years." She finally muttered.

Kuroro raised an eyebrow. She did it right after the slaughter of her clan; what a bold decision, coming from a 13 years-old-girl.

"Why?"

"Why do you think?" She suddenly asked with a spat, her scarlet eyes glowing angrily in the darkness. "I have no other better option. Travelling alone as a girl is much more disadvantaging and dangerous than being a boy."

Still the old, fierce Kurapika he knew. At least the personality did not change along with the body, Kuroro thought, somewhat relieved. Now that the kid was up and awake, his uncertainty about the situation was replaced by sheer curiosity.

"How do you feel right now? It's been 5 long years since you live as a girl." He asked, not bothering to hide his curiosity. If anything, he even looked at her more closely. He noticed the girlishness of Kurapika's feature was enhanced now that the disguise was lifted from her.

Kurapika clutched her chest tighter. "Honestly, I don't feel like myself. It's…strange." She admitted, somehow embarrassed. She had no idea why she answered Kuroro, but she had to say it, otherwise she would not feel at ease. She had to let it out.

"Hm…" Kuroro replied absentmindedly as he kept staring into her face. He reached out and tilted her chin to turn her face towards him. He leaned closer, to observe her more closely. Shocked and flustered, Kurapika snarled and raised her hand.

SLAP!

"Don't touch me." She hissed furiously.

It was not really a hard slap, but still Kuroro's cheek turned slightly red. He chuckled with amusement and he noticed something.

"Already your gestures are changing into those of girls." He told her. "Last time, you had punched me. This time, you slapped me."

"If you prefer punch rather than slap, it suits me just fine." Kurapika raised her fist, ready to strike him again but Kuroro lifted his hands in a mock surrender.

Kurapika regarded him with one killer glare before she turned away and looked at her lap again. Her face looked troubled again and she bit her lower lip. She had to figure out how she would have to deal with things from now on, now that she was a girl once more. Kuroro looked at her with a newfound interest. It surprised him how the girl was willing to go through such ordeal, to sacrifice her original gender in order to survive better so that she could track him—them—down and seek revenge for her fallen comrades, to endure the hardships and gruelling Nen and physical trainings, to push her self into a premature adulthood for survival sake. It made him see her in a different light; he had acknowledged her as a strong person when she was still a boy, but now he knew that she was even more than that. Her strength and determination intrigued him.

"What are you going to do now?" He asked again.

"I don't know. The earring is the only one of the kind. I don't think I can find another one." She said softly, voicing her thoughts.

"You are still thinking of disguising yourself as a boy?" He asked, rather surprised.

"What? You think I'll just give up and accept my fate?" She snapped at him again.

"You are a girl by right. Why deny your true self? Just live as who you are. What's the point of living if you live as someone else who is not your true self?" Kuroro challenged her, unaware that he was voicing the exact points that Ishtar had inquired to the girl. Kurapika froze and stared at him dumbstruck. Suddenly, Ishtar's words echoed in her head.

_Are you sure? Are you okay with this? Why lie to yourself? _

Kuroro was confused on why the girl looked so struck with his words. He was just telling her on what he really believed in. He might be a criminal; a murderer, a thief, but he was just being himself. He fully accepted himself, embracing his true nature. He took pride in what he did, because they reflected his convictions. He wanted to laugh in the irony of the situation; him, a criminal, was living a more 'honest' life than the girl; a Hunter who hunted him the criminal and was living while lying to herself. It brought a grin to his face; he could use this to taunt the Kuruta.

"What are you smiling about?" Kurapika asked with annoyance.

"Nothing." He just shrugged, and took out his Fun Fun Cloth. "Get something to change." He ordered.

Kurapika rummaged through the pile of clothes they had, and fished out a dark grey long-sleeved t-shirt and a white t-shirt. She stared at the white t-shirt, and wordlessly took out her knife and tore at the t-shirt. Kuroro raised an eyebrow at her behaviour, but said nothing and merely watched. Kurapika made a kind of make-shift bandage out of the t-shirt, which he had no idea for what use it was. The girl had no physical injury.

"Turn around." She said flatly. "And do not peek." She warned, her tone edgy.

Kuroro obediently turned around and closed his eyes. Kurapika stared at his back unsurely. She turned around as well, their backs towards each other, and stripped off her ruined shirt. She quickly took the bandage and wrapped it firmly around her chest, binding her breasts to make it more comfortable since she had no bra at the moment. When she had wrapped it, she could not firmly tie the end of the bandage on her back. She tried several times, but the binding always turned out rather loose. Kuroro felt her fidgety movements, and knew that she was having difficulty with something.

"Need any help?" He asked thoughtlessly although he was sure the girl would hiss a "mind your own business".

"Mind your own business." Kurapika snapped stubbornly.

_See?_ He chuckled inaudibly to himself.

As Kurapika fought with the binder, Kuroro waited patiently until she declared that she was done with whatever she was doing. After a few minutes, she finally stopped fidgeting and he could hear the rustles of the clothes as she quickly put on the long-sleeved t-shirt.

"I'm done." She announced.

"We are going to the nearest town tomorrow." Kuroro suddenly said as he turned around.

"Huh?" Kurapika blinked once. Why the sudden decision?

"You will need to buy another set of clothes. And other necessities." He explained, understanding the lost look on the young Kuruta's face.

"I don't need another set of clothes. I'm fine with what I have right now." Kurapika protested. She did not want to spend money unnecessarily, despite the multiple digits in her bank account.

"You are a girl now." Kuroro said with a slight frown.

"So? I am fine with boy's clothes. It's not like I'll die if I wear them." She said adamantly.

"Fine. Do as you wish." Kuroro got up with a slight, unhappy frown on his face. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Kurapika got up as well and dusted her pants. Kuroro gave her a quizzical stare.

"You want to sleep here with the dead?" He said as he gestured at the dead bodies.

"Let's go." She said in less than a heartbeat and marched forward. Kuroro followed close behind her, an amused smile on his face.

* * *

"I said I don't need another set of clothes!" She was close to yelling at him. She gritted her teeth in extreme annoyance, her hands akimbo on her hips as she had a glaring contest with Kuroro in front of a clothing store in the middle of the street. Some passer-byes looked at them and perceived them as quarrelling couple. Some even had the nerve to giggle, which irritated Kurapika even more.

"You are an eyesore when you wear those boys' clothes." He retorted. Kuroro Lucifer liked to appreciate works of arts, and he had to admit that the Kuruta looked pretty enough, but the boys' clothes ruined everything. After two whole days of observation, the moment they stepped into the first town they reached, he was dead determined to purchase a set of girls' clothes for her, whether she liked it or not.

"It doesn't concern you." She countered.

"It does, because you are travelling with me." He said back. "And I do not accept you walking around in such ridiculous fashion when you are with me."

Kurapika scowled fiercely at him. Kuroro had made it sounded as if they were 'together', and it gave her goose-bumps. She had another reason; she was a practical person, and boys' clothes tended to be more practical than girls'. She reasoned with this without thinking twice.

"I'm sure we can find practical girls' clothes here." He said triumphantly, because it meant that they were going into the shop, which meant he would get to force her to buy something once they were inside the shop.

Kurapika realized her mistake, and cursed silently at Kuroro's play of words. Kuroro dragged her into the shop, the link doing him a favour in it, and she could only comply although most reluctantly. The shop owner greeted them warmly, but they passed her by without a word and immediately went to the girl's corner. Kuroro quickly sifted through the displayed clothes and found some practical ones that would suit Kurapika. Begrudgingly, Kurapika noted that those clothes that the man had chosen for her were of good taste. Kuroro Lucifer had a good sense of fashion, while she looked like some fashion-geek, only standing there and embraced whatever clothes that Kuroro dumped to her. He then dragged her towards the counter and transferred the clothes from her arms to the table.

"Do you think you can exchange them with the clothes we have here?" He asked politely with a smile as he produced Kurapika's boy's clothes from the Fun Fun Cloth and dumped them in a heap on the table. The female manager was instantly smitten by his handsome smile and blushed. Kurapika rolled her eyes; why all girls had to get smitten by the bastard? Kurapika stole a glance at Kuroro. Indeed she had to admit that he was good-looking; with his hair down and the headband concealing his cross-shaped tattoo on his forehead, and as he wore the black trench coat with Chinese-collared black shirt underneath.

"Sss—sure. Let me check them first. I will deduct the worth of these clothes from your bill afterwards." The young lady stuttered nervously and inspected the clothes. They were mostly in good conditions, since Kurapika was a neat and clean freak, and always took great care of his clothes.

"Excuse me, can you help me…" Kurapika leaned forward and whispered something to the lady. She nodded as Kurapika spoke, and then excused herself and went into the store.

"What—"

"None of your business." Kurapika hurriedly cut him off, refusing to look at him.

Kurapika leaned forward and rested her elbows on the counter top. She sighed as if exhausted, and Kuroro noticed this. They did run down a hill to save time, but surely she as not exhausted just by that?

The manager soon enough emerged from the back room with a small bundle in her hands. She gave the bundle to Kurapika and whispered something as she winked at the younger girl. Kurapika merely muttered a thank you and put the bundle on the table.

Kurapika paid for the clothes, since they were hers anyway. She did not want to be indebted to Kuroro in any forms. Once outside, they stored the clothes into the man's Fun Fun Cloth.

"Never look into this." Kurapika warned him sharply as she put her 'special' bundle into the Fun Fun Cloth. Kuroro raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's inside?"

"Just don't peek." She insisted curtly and said nothing else. Kuroro frowned at her, and suddenly a realization dawned to him.

"Oh." He just said emotionlessly, but inwardly he laughed at her shyness. Of course he knew what was inside.

Time rolled by quickly and by the time they finished shopping, the sun was already low on the horizon, painting the small town in its glorious crimson light. They unanimously decided to look for an inn to stay for the night, although Kurapika was reluctant to spend the rest of the day in an inn. The prospect of staying in a room doing nothing with the Spider Head was not pleasing to her. He would rather be outside with him, doing something else rather than sitting in awkward silence with his supposedly nemesis. When they finally found an inn, Kurapika stopped before they entered the building.

"Wait. What kind of story are you going to make now?" She asked with suspicion to the older man. The man gave her a mischievous smirk, which took her aback.

"What kind of story do you want?"

"Not the long-lost half sister. That's ridiculous." She narrowed her eyes. "Just say we are travelling companion."

"If you wish so." Kuroro turned away and resumed walking into the inn. Kurapika eyed him warily. Something was off, the man seemed to be scheming something. How could he agree so readily with her idea? Something was fishy, but she could not guess exactly what.

One thing for sure, she had a really bad premonition, a nagging feeling that something unpleasant would happen that night. She looked up to see the inn's name.

"The Prancing Pony, huh?"

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: Tadaaa….And that's it. Kurapika is a girl. For those who are expecting this story to be a shonen-ai, forgive me. I'm not so much a big fan of shonen-ai, so yeah… Sorry multiple times. Sorry if I disappoint some of you. It's been planned since the beginning. Because she knew that she was originally a girl, that's why she was adamant in convincing people that she was a boy. Poor girl. Well, I guess you can deduce what the special bundle is. Hehe… I always think that Kuroro is the type who pays attention to his appearance, although not excessively so. And I guess he's the type who'll do anything to fix something he doesn't like if he can help it. And yes, this particular inn will have significant role in the story._

_**Next**__: Expectantly, they had to stay in one room due to the bind. But how about the beds? Kurapika was a girl now, surely that posed some problems. What was more, there were more problems in store for both of them now._


	6. Chapter 6: Delirium

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter…_

_**Story so far**__: Finally it was revealed that Kurapika was in fact, and indeed, a girl. With the way things were now, changes were bound to happen between the two of them. How would they adapt to the new situation?_

* * *

**Chapter 6**

** _DELIRIUM_**

* * *

**__**

"Welcome! What kind of room do you want?" A red-haired teenage girl with ponytail about Kurapika's age welcomed them with a huge grin as soon as they entered the inn. She looked at Kuroro first and blushed slightly upon seeing his handsome face; which made Kurapika rolled her eyes in annoyance. However, when she looked at them more closely, she seemed surprised and she stared at them for a long three seconds, before she grinned widely again at them. Kurapika felt butterflies in her stomach.

"One room with two beds." Kuroro said deadpan, his face impassive as he scanned the living room of the inn.

"Two beds?" The girl now sounded confused. Kurapika felt like smacking her forehead. "Oh, okay. Make yourself at home, I will arrange your room."

She turned around and skipped her way towards the counter, where her father was busy with the guest book. Now Kurapika knew why the inn was named the Prancing Pony; the daughter was one. She cast a few curious glances towards them, with the grin never leaving her upturned lips. She whispered something to her father, which made the old man to look up and glance at them, scold the girl mildly and shoo her to do her job. He stole a quick glance at them again, before shaking his head and returned his attention to his guest book. By then Kurapika's hands were already itching to strangle the man next to her. She followed Kuroro as he approached the counter while she tried to control her temper.

"Good evening. How long do you plan to stay here?" The old man looked up and smiled warmly at them.

"Good evening to you, too. We may be staying for one night only." He responded politely as he gave him a small smile. The old man looked at his face closely, and then he turned to Kurapika.

"Is the miss there okay? She looks a bit pale." He asked with concern.

"My companion is just tired. We have just come down from the forest up there, you see." Kuroro said easily as he put a hand on her _head_. Kurapika stiffened under his touch, but the innkeeper did not notice that.

"Oh, poor girl. If you want I can have my daughter to deliver your dinner to your room. How about that?" The old man offered kindly.

"That's very kind of you. Thank you, we appreciate that." Kuroro bowed his head slightly in a thanking gesture, while Kurapika was still standing stiff although Kuroro had removed his hand from the golden crown of her head.

"The room's ready! Come up here, I'll take you to your room." The girl from earlier ran down the stairs and beamed at them. Kuroro excused themselves from the old man and followed the energetic girl up to the second floor. As the climbed the staircase, Kurapika glared at Kuroro fiercely, but she did not let her eyes turned crimson. Kuroro still had his mask of indifference on, and betrayed nothing of his glee at the situation.

"Come in, come in. The window is facing the forest up on the hill. The bathroom is over there. If you need any assistance, you can call me. My name is Fino, by the way." The girl skipped in and introduced them to their room with her bubbly speech. Kurapika scanned the room tiredly. Suddenly she just wanted to flop down to the bed and never getting up again.

"Can the beds be moved?" Kuroro asked as he looked at the separated beds. The young girl's eyes widened at Kuroro's seemingly innocent question and blushed. Kurapika stared at her with horror.

"O, of—of course you can." She stuttered, her face still blushing furiously. "But you could've requested for a room with single queen-sized bed." Fino continued as her gaze shifted to Kurapika. Kurapika was covering her face with her hand, trying not to glare daggers at the innocent girl who had no idea on the complexity of her relationship with the bastard.

"No, it will inconvenience my companion. We'll take this room, thank you." Kuroro smiled at Fino warmly, and she was almost swooned by his charm. Kurapika fortunately did not see that.

"I, I—en—enjoy your stay here!" Fino bowed deeply at them and scurried away from the room, her face as red as tomato.

The room fell into a heavy silence as Fino closed the door with a soft click. The silence was later broken by Kuroro's soft chuckle.

"And that's how it turns out if you choose the 'companion' option." He said as he looked at the still mortified Kuruta girl. Kurapika responded by roughly grabbing the lapel of his coat.

"You knew this would happen!" She hissed venomously.

"You should know as well. Did you forget that you are a girl now?" Kuroro smiled mockingly at her.

Kurapika's eyes widened at his question, the anger replaced by a daze. True, in the split moment in front of the inn before they entered, in her mind she thought that she was still the Kurapika boy, so she had thought being companion would be best. Having a girl as travelling companion was sure to raise unwanted assumptions from the innkeepers. Kurapika froze at her own stupidity, while Kuroro chuckled again and took her hands to peel them off his coat. Just then, there was a knock on the door and without waiting for any answer, the door was flung open.

"Dinner's here—oh!" Fino waltzed in with a tray of food in her hands but stopped midway as she saw the two. From her perspective, it looked that Kuroro was affectionately holding the worn out girl's hands for some assurance, since the girl looked paler than before; which was actually caused by Fino barging in when they were in such a compromising position. Moreover, she spotted the identical silver rings on their fingers; Kuroro's on the middle finger of his right hand, and Kurapika's on the index finger of her left hand. Fino blushed again furiously, and Kurapika sighed heavily before wrenching her hands from Kuroro's grip.

"Thank you. You can put it on the table over there." Kuroro motioned at the table.

"Ah! Y—yes!" Hurriedly she put the tray on the table and bowed an apology. "I'm so sorry to have interrupted you. Please continue."

With that, she ran out of the room and closed the door louder than before. They could hear her running down the staircase excitedly. Kurapika felt really dizzy and she squatted on the floor, burying her face in her knees with a long, heavy sigh. Kuroro looked down to her with a questioning look.

"Come on, let's eat our dinner."

"I'm tired, I'm not hungry." Kurapika said in a muffled voice.

"But you still must eat." Kuroro insisted.

"I don't want to eat." She replied stubbornly.

"Well, if you are not going to eat, I am going to eat, so get up." Kuroro bent down and took her by her elbow and made her stand. With a yelp Kurapika was already on her feet, surprised by the strength that the man used to lift her. Kuroro frowned at her. "I really think you should eat more. You are too light."

"It's none of your concern." She said again, red colour creeping stealthily to her pale cheeks. Kuroro sighed.

"Look, Kurapika. We travel together not by our choice, so I do not want to waste my time and energy looking after a sick girl. Understand?" He said sternly as he looked straight into her oceanic blue eyes with his big dark eyes.

"I won't get sick." She retorted, daring to stare into his eyes. She failed to notice that it was only the second time Kuroro called her by name since the first time she insisted that he called her not by her tribe name.

"You will if you don't eat." He said in a dismissive tone and dragged her by her elbow to the table and made her sit opposite him. "Now eat."

Kurapika looked at Kuroro with her most annoyed look, glaring mildly at him. Why was the man being such a Mother-Hen? She was his enemy, he should not care less about her. It was true, though, that they would inconvenience each other if one of them got sick. She herself had no desire to nurse him if he ever got sick.

She looked down at her food; the rice steaming warm and the fragrance made her mouth watery. Suddenly she heard her stomach growling in protest. Reluctantly she picked the utensils and shoved a small amount of food into her mouth. She chewed slowly as she savoured the flavour, her initial intention not to eat forgotten. Her shoulder slumped in a relaxed manner and she began eating her food steadily, though slowly. When Kuroro was satisfied and sure that she would eat her food, he began eating his. They ate in silence, and both finished their food clean.

"Do you want to take your bath now?" Kuroro offered as he saw sleepiness started to hang around the tired girl.

Kurapika, too tired to be obnoxious just to spite him, nodded wordlessly. Kuroro took out his Fun Fun Cloth and handed her pyjamas along with the 'special' bundle. They walked towards the bathroom, and while Kurapika bathed inside, he sat down on the floor while leaning against the wall. After a moment, the girl emerged from the bathroom in her new pyjamas, cradling her bundle closely. Without an exchange of a single word, Kuroro slipped into the bathroom while Kurapika sat against the wall. She tried to dry her wet blonde hair with the bath towel, but soon she yawned and drowsiness took over. A minute or two of sleep would not hurt.

* * *

So far it had been good. At least he was still in control of situation. Although the Kuruta turned back into her original gender, it still did not cause much hassle so far. Kuroro looked up and let the warm water from the shower pour unto his face. He could not imagine how the rest of their journey would be, with the Kuruta being a girl now. One thing for sure, he could not let the news reached his comrades' ears. They would fuss about it, and it would only give him extra headache. Especially Nobunaga; oh what a nightmare he would be.

When he was done, he dried himself and put on his sleeping attire. He unlocked the door and stepped out, only to find Kurapika sleeping while leaning against the wall, the towel draped on her still wet hair. The bundle was forgotten by her side, her legs sprawled on the wooden floor. Kuroro frowned at her careless attitude and squatted down next to her. He took his chance to study the girl's visage without earning a glare from her.

Her skin was amazingly smooth and flawless, although they were too pale. He also noticed that she had long eyelashes, forming thick, dark curtain from her eyelids. Her lips were rather thin and pale, and she looked terribly exhausted. When she was asleep, with the absence of the scowls and looks of consternation, she was actually quite pretty; angelic even. Kuroro tapped her shoulder lightly to wake her up, but she did not stir.

"Kurapika." He called at her softly, so as not to surprise the wit out of her. She did not respond. "Kurapika." This time, he called at her and tapped her lightly. Still no response.

Kuroro raised an eyebrow. It was really unusual that the Kuruta would sleep so deeply, while usually the slightest touch from him would jolt her awake. The girl was really full of surprise; one time she would be really wary and suspicious of him, mistrusting him for everything he did; the next time she would completely drop her guard, revealing the young child she was. Chuckling softly in amusement, Kuroro slipped a hand beneath her knees and another on her shoulder. Gently, he lifted her off the floor and walked towards the bed, intending to drop her there, when a knock stopped him. Without thinking twice, he called the person in.

"Excuse me, I'm here to—" Fino, for the umpteenth time of the day, froze on her spot as she stopped mid-sentence. She saw the older man carrying the sleeping young girl, both fresh from bathroom, bridal style to the beds. She blushed furiously and started stuttering incoherently.

"I—I—tray—" She grappled for words, but her tongue seemed laden.

"You are here to get the tray back." Kuroro finished for her. Fino nodded vigorously. Without wasting her time like an idiot, she grabbed the tray with the empty plates and rushed out of the room, her footsteps echoing in the staircase.

Kuroro shook his head at the girl's antics. She looked as if she had seen something so outrageous, but then again if she had known the context of their relationship, by right it was supposed to be more than outrageous. At least for Kurapika's part it was. He turned and looked back at the still slumbering girl in his arms. She slept peacefully as if the little fuss the innkeeper's 'prancing pony' daughter had caused earlier was non-existence for her. Kuroro really wondered how the girl could be really light. It almost took him no effort at all to lift her off the floor.

He deposited her to the bed, but noticed that her hair was still very wet. He 'tsk'ed at her recklessness, but nonetheless made her sat up against the wall and began drying her hair with her towel. Let her sleep with wet hair, the next day she would get bad headache, or worse she would catch cold. He did not want to have a sick girl tagging along, honestly. He did so most gently so as not to wake the exhausted girl. Even the girl did not respond when he shook her hair to dry it. He wondered on how exhausted the girl was really; physically and mentally. She must be really tired to her soul, since she was really unaware that her so-called nemesis was ruffling her hair just to get it dry. Kuroro even sniffed in amusement. Imagine how his comrades would react if they saw their Danchou doing such civilised and down-to-earth gesture. Nobunaga would probably faint with bubbles in his mouth.

When he was done; the hair was still damp but at least it was not soaking wet, he tossed the wet towels to the chair nearby and lie the girl down on her back. He looked at the girl again, feeling uneasy. Somehow, Kurapika seemed very tired that day, while he was not at all. He knew the girl had very good stamina, so by right she should not be so exhausted. Her face also looked paler than usual.

Brushing aside those thought, thinking that he was getting soft on the girl, Kuroro pushed the beds to join them and sat on his bed. Not feeling sleepy yet, he took out his book and began reading while sitting close (because of the bind) to the sleeping Kuruta.

* * *

Kurapika felt her head spinning, her whole body burning unpleasantly, her stomach churning uneasily. She tried to shake away the feelings, but they would not go. She felt someone sitting close to her, as if keeping vigil for her. Prying open her eyes, although they felt laden, she saw the blurry figure of a man. He had a book open in his hand and was reading it. The man seemed to notice her waking up and said something. She could not catch what he was saying so she said nothing in return. A few seconds later the man turned to look at her. He put down his book and bent towards her, put a palm on her burning forehead and said something again.

His cooling hand calmed her throbbing head, and she felt like she remembered that hand. Big and kind, she remembered the owner of those hands. It was so long ago, her heart ached badly that she could not restrain her tears from flowing.

"A…aniki…(it means big brother in Japanese)" She choked the word. Suddenly, the man's face became visible, and once again she was looking at her brother's face. His kind smile warmed her heart, his hand on her forehead. His hair; the golden locks identical to hers, framed his handsome face. "Aniki, you are here…" She grabbed his hand.

"Kurapika, I'm dead." He whispered to her, his smile turned sorrowful.

"Bu—but you are here." She started to panic. She grasped his arm firmer, but he drew back from her.

"No, Kurapika. I died 5 years ago." He said again, trying to peel her hands from his arm. He started to pull away, and Kurapika's heart burst into fear, the same fear that struck her 5 years ago when she saw her village burned down and her people reduced into eyeless corpses. The fear of being abandoned.

"NO!" She screamed, jolted up and hugged his arm desperately. "No, don't go! Don't leave me alone!" She started crying uncontrollably.

"Kurapika, you can't do this." Her brother said again, but this time he did not push her away. "You must be strong."

"No, don't abandon me. I don't want to be alone. Aniki!" She screamed and cried at the same time. Her wail was heart wrenching, and she clung to her brother's arm as if it was her life line.

"No…don't leave me…I will be strong, I promise… So don't leave me now…" She sobbed miserably. Her brother looked at her with sad eyes, but he reached out and patted her head gently.

"I won't leave you, Kurapika." He whispered to her in reassurance.

"Promise?" She asked in her sobs. She looked up at her brother, but her vision was obscured by her tears.

"Promise." He nodded and patted Kurapika's head. "Now you lie down and rest."

Feeling reassured by his gentle words and soothing touch, Kurapika nodded weakly and smiled childishly at him. Still not letting go his hand, Kurapika lay down and drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Kuroro was reading his book at peace when he felt slight movement next to him. Even without having to look, he knew the girl had woken up. He could literally feel her stare at him.

"Awake?" He had asked easily. Receiving none of the usual fierce response from her, he turned around and looked at her quizzically. Only then he realized that her face had turned slightly red. Putting down his book, he reached out and touched her forehead. As he had suspected, she was having a fever.

"You have a fever." He said with an I-told-you-so tone. He knew it was coming, since he had noticed her getting weaker for the last few days. He wanted to chastise her right away, but that would not do her any good. She would not even understand half of what he would be saying anyway, with her head burning in such fever. Then, it suddenly came.

"A…Aniki…" She whispered. Kuroro froze in his spot. He looked at her with wide eyes. The girl's teary eyes looked hopeful. "Aniki, you are here…" She grabbed his hand firmly. Kuroro frowned at her.

"Kurapika, your brother is dead." He tried telling her.

"Bu—but you are here…" She responded, her eyes grew wider with fear. Kuroro raised an eyebrow. Somehow, she understood what he was saying but it was twisted such that as if Kuroro was speaking as his brother.

"No, Kurapika. He died 5 years ago." He reasoned with her again. _And I was probably the one who killed him_, he added in his mind. Feeling uneasy and annoyed at the same time, Kuroro pulled away from her as he tried to extract her grip from her hand. Pure terror flooded the girl's blue eyes and she suddenly sat up and hugged his arm. He stiffened under her touch, but she started screaming denials and pleaded for him not to go away.

"I'm not your brother. You are hallucinating because of your fever." He told her in strained voice, but she kept pleading for him not to go, his words no longer reached her minds. She clung at him as if for her dear life and wailed miserably, plunging into a frenzied hysteria. He let her cried her eyes out, hoping that when she had tired herself, she would drift back into sleep, leaving him peacefully.

"…I will be strong, I promise…So don't leave me now…" She pleaded again, her voice cracking in her sobs. She gripped Kuroro's arm tightly, fearing that he would escape and vaporise into thin air.

Suddenly, she looked like a broken toy in Kuroro's eyes. So weak and fragile, haunted by her brother's ghost. Her shivering shoulders gave no traces of her previous strength that he had silently and secretly approved of. She looked so small, clinging at him desperately. He had wanted to shove her aside, to leave her deal with her own problems on her own. He himself had never had a blissful childhood like any normal kids. Growing up in Ryuusei-gai had never been accounted as normal by people outside Ryuusei-gai, anyway. He had thought he would not be able to sympathise with the girl, so he had decided to leave her on her own devices since he would not be able to offer any comforts. But after hearing her pleas, her promise to be strong, suddenly Kuroro realised that while she might look strong, there was a big scar in her heart, in her soul. It was a scar that could not be healed, which forever would cripple her unless someone went to mend it. And he was the one who had brutally left the scar 5 years ago.

Kuroro shook his head lightly to dissolve such thoughts. It was not like him to be thinking of that kind of thing. In any case, the girl seemed restless and would not give up unless he did something to calm her down.

"I won't leave you, Kurapika." He whispered, trying to sound as reassuring as possible; although he felt that he had failed miserably.

"Promise?" She asked tearfully.

"Promise." He nodded and patted her head. "Now you lie down and rest."

She nodded weakly and gave him a childish smile, which took him by surprise. When she had finally drifted into a deep sleep, she still did not let go of her grip on his hand. Kuroro eyed her warily, but made no attempt to extract his hand from her hand. He sighed heavily and immediately his thought rushed to his cell phone.

"_When there is an abnormal change to that child, call me immediately. Understood?" _

That was what Ishtar had said. Did she mean this delirious reaction? Kuroro covered his mouth with his free hand and thought it over. Come to think of it, Kurapika's stamina dropped after the earring was destroyed and she reverted back into her original gender. When they ran down the hill to save time, he had noticed that her breathings were more laborious. He had thought that she was just losing her edge because she had turned back into a girl, and thus her stamina that she had retained when she was still a boy had diminished. It was highly probable that the cause of her fever and delirium was the side-effect of the earring being destroyed. Her Nen was still the same as when she was still a boy, but the physical change that her body undergone was might be too much to bear, and finally her mental and body took the toll after two days.

He looked again at the sleeping girl. No, he would not call Ishtar now. Not if he could help it. If the fever was really due to the sudden release of the disguise, the fever would go down soon enough when her body and mental had rested enough. If by tomorrow noon her fever still had not receded, then he might resort to medicine. If by tomorrow night she was still burning up, only then he would give Ishtar a call.

Suddenly feeling tired because he had to handle a delirious and hysterical girl, Kuroro decided to sleep. He lay down on his bed and turned around to face the sleeping girl. Gingerly he touched her forehead; the high fever was still there but somehow Kurapika was able to sleep peacefully. He pulled away his hand and could only hope that she would get better soon. He did not want to nurse a delirious feverish girl. He was a killer, a thief, not a nurse.

* * *

A soft knock on the door woke him up. He sat up and the first thing he did was to check on Kurapika. She was still sleeping, still holding his hand. He checked her temperature, but much to his disappointment she was still feverish. The person behind the door knocked again, and Kuroro called the person in. The door opened slightly and a head peeked in carefully. Fino looked at them curiously; Kuroro still had his hand on her forehead, and he did not look up.

"Em…Mom said breakfast is ready." She said sheepishly.

"Can you bring it here?" Kuroro asked distractedly, his eyebrow furrowed as he was trying to think on how to get the girl better as soon as possible. It would be highly inconvenient if the girl kept burning up. He had no wish to contact Ishtar, either.

"Sure. But, umm…." Fino gazed at the sleeping Kuruta curiously. "Is…Is she okay?"

Kuroro looked up and stared at her. Fino gasped and blushed. Even when Kuroro had just got up, he still looked dead handsome.

"She is having fever." He said as he observed her reaction.

"Fever? Oh no." Fino suddenly became bold and she entered the room, rushing to Kurapika's bed hurriedly. She checked her temperature by touching her cheek, and was surprised to feel her hot skin. "She's burning up! When did she get the fever?"

"Last night."

"Last night?" She exclaimed. "Did you give her a cold compress?"

"No." He admitted. Somehow, he had not thought of it.

"NO?" Fino was close to shouting now. "That won't do! Wait here!" She got up and dashed into the bathroom. Kuroro heard the girl rummaging through the bathroom, heard the sound of water pouring from the tap into some kind of container, and soon Fino emerged from the bathroom holding a pail of cold water. She brought a small towel and dipped it into the cold water, squeezed the excess water and draped the wet towel on Kurapika's forehead.

"When the towel has gotten warm, dip it in the cold water and put it back again." She instructed, while Kuroro just nodded silently.

"I'll bring the breakfast to your room." She got up, and looked at them again. "Are you going to stay by her side for the rest of the day?"

"Yes." It was not like he had any choice, anyway. The bind bound him to her, so as long as she was bedridden, he would be stuck in the room. He did not bother to elaborate more, though.

"Then I'll bring your lunch and dinner up, too." Fino said again. There was an admiring look on her face; she had totally gotten the wrong idea. She retreated from the room quietly, leaving Kuroro with the feverish Kurapika. She only came back to deliver his lunch, and wordlessly left them alone. She felt that she had to respect Kuroro's devotion for Kurapika; a complete misunderstanding.

* * *

It was around noon when Kurapika opened her eyes again. She blinked twice, her puffy eyes adjusting to the light in the room. She had no idea why her eyes were puffy, and why there was a damp towel on her forehead. She glanced to her side, and saw Kuroro sitting next to her and reading his book peacefully, his fingers intertwined with hers. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw herself holding Kuroro's hand.

"Awake? Are you yourself now?" Kuroro asked impassively, showing no gentleness he had (in pretence) shown her when she was in her delirious state.

"What do you mean?" Kurapika asked in raspy voice as she let go of her grip on Kuroro's hand hurriedly, as if his hand was infected. Ignoring her rudeness, Kuroro turned around and looked at him with curious dark eyes.

"You don't remember?"

"What had happened when I was sleeping? What's with this cold compress?" She asked with mild irritation in her voice as she sat up and let the towel dropped to her lap.

Kuroro put down his book and reached out to touch her forehead with his hand. Her temperature had miraculously dropped back to normal, while all he did was to change the towel routinely whenever it had gotten too warm, and it was just slightly past noon. Kurapika flinched when Kuroro had unabashedly touched her forehead; and she did not forget to glare at him, which he only ignored. He frowned when he felt her temperature; it was almost too good to be true. But then again, assuming her fever was really caused by the sudden removal of her disguise, it made sense that the fever would be gone once she had had enough rest. He looked at her face; it was still flushed from her fever, but definitely healthy. Kurapika inched away from his scrutiny.

"Excuse me? Do you mind explaining what is going on?" Kurapika demanded, unhappy that she was at loss about the situation.

"You had fever last night." He said deadpan. There was a short pause before he added, "And you were delirious."

"Fever? Delirious? I—Did I say anything strange?" Her face turned red.

"Strange?" Kuroro smirked. Kurapika frowned at him, with slight twist in her stomach. By then, she could tell that if the older man started to smirk, he was up to a mischief against her.

"What did I ramble about?" She demanded, bracing herself to receive some embarrassing recollections of her babblings.

"Nothing much. You were hallucinating about your brother." Her face turned ashen and she bit her lower lip.

"And?"

"You were begging him not to leave you alone." He said as he observed her reaction closely.

"Did I do anything?"

Kuroro raised an eyebrow. _Now that's an interesting question, and right on the mark_, he thought. He tried his best to hide his gleeful smirk, he so wanted to see her reaction.

"You hugged my arm."

"I DID WHAT?"

"You hugged my arm." He repeated, trying not to laugh out loud. "And you wouldn't let go of my hand all night."

Kurapika slumped back to her bed as if she had fainted. She groaned loudly and covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. Her face was blushing furiously, and she heard Kuroro chuckling.

"You're lying." She accused.

"No, I'm telling the truth." He defended himself calmly.

"I would never do that!"

"You mistook me as your brother."

That sent the girl into a silence state. She stopped her denial, peeked from between her fingers and saw Kuroro looking at her. They stared for a few seconds, before she finally looked away.

"Sorry." She mumbled, embarrassed of herself.

"Why?" Kuroro asked, not understanding her sudden apology.

"I did get sick."

"It can't be helped. Your body is shocked by the sudden change, it needs to adjust and so does your mental." He paused for a while, before continuing. "Speaking of which, how are you feeling now?"

Kurapika looked at him with mild bewilderment; not understanding his sudden concern, but nonetheless put her hands on her chest, as if feeling her beating heart and closed her eyes. She felt her heartbeats were much calmer than before; the last few days her heartbeats were somewhat erratic, and she was in constant uneasiness. Now she felt strangely peaceful and calm.

"I'm okay." She finally said and opened up her eyes, only to see Kuroro looming over her. He looked at her curiously with his big, soulful eyes. "What?" She asked nervously.

"Do you want to rest for another day? Or do you want to continue our trip today?" He asked as he retreated back to his sitting position.

Kurapika looked at him with confusion. Again, she frowned at his sudden concern of her welfare. It disturbed her. "Why with the sudden concern?"

Kuroro contemplated her question. Indeed, why was he being concerned of her? She had been a nuisance so far. There was this nagging feeling that he had to at least do something about her. Was he feeling responsible for her? She was 9 good years younger than him, after all. Although he was troubled within, he still put up his mask of indifference. He turned to look at Kurapika, who was still anticipating his answer.

"For practical reason, I don't want to have a half sick girl tagging along." He said without a hint of emotion.

"I see." Kurapika responded, somehow relieved that it was a really practical reason. If she heard answer any other than that, she did not know how she would take it. She did not want the Spider Head to start swaying her with his genuine kindness and concerns for her. "I think I still want to rest."

"Go ahead." Kuroro said and he returned to his book.

Kurapika shut her eyes and tried to ignore Kuroro's close presence. In no time, she drifted back to the comforting darkness of her sleep.

* * *

Faint clutters of metal utensils echoed in her half-asleep mind. She heard distant voices talking softly, as if afraid that they would wake her up. One was a female, the other one was a male. She was familiar with the male one, his voice deep and pleasant to her ears. His voice was gentle yet controlled, as if he was talking in an act. She realised then that she had seldom detected such detachment in his voice before when he talked to her. Begrudgingly for her part, he had always been honest to her, although he would refuse to tell her some things, he never lied. He just did not tell her. When he talked to her, he sounded more…genuine.

"…when she is awake." She heard him saying.

Her eyes fluttered open in response of his words. The first thing she saw was his back towards her as he was sitting at the edge of her bed. A pony-tailed girl, whom she recognised as the daughter of the innkeeper, was standing in front of him, holding a tray on one hand and handing him a plate of food with the other. Fino noticed her waking up first, and she burst into a wide grin.

"Oh, she is awake!" She chirped happily.

Kuroro turned around in surprise. He immediately checked her temperature with his hand, and was unconsciously relieved to feel her normal temperature. At least her condition had stabilised now. Again, Kurapika stiffened under his touch; his hand was cold.

"How are you feeling now?" The innkeeper's daughter asked kindly as she put down the tray of food on the bed.

"I'm fine." Kurapika answered, her voice raspy due to lack of moisture. The cheerful girl leaned forward towards Kurapika, her face only a mere inch from hers.

"Your boyfriend stays by your side all day to take care of you." Fino whispered to Kurapika, winking at her playfully. Kurapika wanted to roll her eyes but she refrained herself from doing so; that would be rude. After all, Fino was just a simple town girl.

"He is not my boyfriend." She whispered back, rather annoyed by the false assumption.

"Really?" Fino whispered back fiercely, not believing Kurapika's denial.

"Honestly, it's none of your business." Kurapika said somewhat harshly. She gave the young girl a sharp look, and Fino backed away nervously.

"Oh…I—I will take my leave now. Enjoy your dinner." She bowed politely and hurriedly rushed out of the room with flustered face.

Kurapika sighed and rolled to her back, her eyes scanning the ceiling above her absentmindedly. Kuroro looked at her with curious eyes. The Kuruta girl was usually very polite to other people.

"That isn't so nice to her." He commented as he put down his plate of food.

"She is meddling in other people's business." Kurapika reasoned.

"What did she tell you?"

"She said you were waiting by my side all day to take care of me. Yeah right, all you did was to put the cold towel on my forehead and you went on reading. Besides, there is the stupid bind. Of course you can't leave my side, in a sense." Kurapika ranted irritably.

"What more did she tell you?"

Kurapika turned to look at him sharply. She had purposely left behind a tiny fragment of Fino's words, because she wanted to save herself from the embarrassment, but somehow the annoying man knew. Kuroro knew that she would not be so annoyed if the innkeeper's daughter had mentioned only such trivial things; there had to be something else that irked her.

"She said you are my boyfriend." She mumbled, with certain redness crept up her cheeks.

"Ah…" Kuroro snickered at her words.

Kurapika glared at him, but he had turned around, his back facing her. As dusk had passed, the room turned dim, the only light came from the small lamp near their beds. Kurapika looked at Kuroro's back. He was only wearing a plain black t-shirt. She could see his broad shoulders, strong and independent. However, she could also spot a loneliness in them; a solitary back. Suddenly, Ishtar's voice echoed in her head.

"_I raised him, but the boy won't call me mother. I don't think he will ever do… Regarding his past, his childhood, his history, it is not my right to tell them to you. If you want to know, ask him"_

Kurapika scowled. As if it would be that easy to ask. She figured the man would just turn mute and give her the cold shoulder, or would just change the subject. It was not like it was an important matter for her, but she was just curious… Kuroro Lucifer was a mysterious man, too mysterious to be left alone. She was drawn to him; to his detachment. Things were contradictory about him. He was cold and calculating; able to kill without thinking twice, no guilt or remorse whatsoever. He felt nothing when he killed, as he had answered when she asked.

xXx

"Don't you feel anything when you kill?" She had asked with repulsion as she looked around the bloody masses; the aftermath of their retaliation against some bounty hunters who were after Kuroro's head.

"Nothing." He responded without batting an eyelid.

"Have you no heart? How can you kill a life without feeling anything?" She asked derisively.

"You asked the same question as your little friend did." He said with an amused smile. He was referring to Gon, but of course Kurapika had no idea who he was talking about. "Because they do not concern me. They are nothing for me, so I have no qualms in killing them. Satisfied?"

xXx

Without noticing it, Kurapika's eyes had turned red, glowing subtly in the dimly lit room. She was upset by his indifferent answer. He was too cold, too inhumane. She could not relate to him, but precisely because of that, she wanted to know why. Why had he become the person he was? He had a mother figure, so why? Just because he grew up in Ryuusei-gai, that he automatically became such a cold-blooded killer with no feelings?

"Kurapika."

She blinked in surprise and turned her face to see Kuroro staring at her, his expression unreadable. He seemed to be frowning, but it was too dark to tell for sure. Her eyes turned back to their blue hues. Her eyes met his dark eyes. He looked like he wanted to ask something, but decided against it. He pushed a plate of food towards her.

"Your dinner." He simply said, and turned around to finish his own food.

Without saying anything, the girl pushed herself up into a sitting position and began eating the food silently. If she was to refuse eating again, Kuroro would just chastise her again, and she had had enough of that. What she did not know was that Kuroro deliberately did not mention the fact that their bind had once again expanded. Earlier he had tried to measure it while she was sleeping, and much to his surprise, it had expanded up to 60 cm. He had thought that if he mentioned it, the blonde would think that she was warming up to him, consequently she would start distancing herself from him again. He did not want the bind to shrink again, it was most uncomfortable.

Or was he only feeling comfortable having her around?

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: Yeah, this chapter is a mix of comedy and tragedy (maybe?). Heh… I guess it's pretty clear here that Kurapika's brother is really important to her. And there's not much to say about this chapter, otherwise it'll spoil the plot. Hehehe… Anticipate the next chapter, which will be full of comedy revolving around this Prancing Pony inn!_

_**Next**__: They were just about to continue with their journey scouring the world for solution for their 'problem', but chains of problems just had to happen. _


	7. Chapter 7: Double Trouble

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter, only some of the supporting characters popping out here and there._

_**Story so far**__: Just a few days after it was revealed that Kurapika was indeed a girl, she had a high fever plus a disastrous delirium. Somehow, Kuroro managed to handle her, although he had to see the weak side of her. Just as they intended to resume their journey, bad things just had to befall them._

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**_DOUBLE TROUBLE_**

* * *

It had only been half a day when they walked out of the town when the chains of troubles began.

They were traversing the lush forest at the hills surrounding the small town, both keeping everything to themselves. Kurapika had been mulling over the fact that she had mistaken Kuroro Lucifer, of all people, as her older brother. If it had been Leorio, she would have understood it. After all, that incorrigible man was already like a big brother to him since the Hunter Exam they took about a year ago. Ah, the Hunter Exam. How she missed those blissful time. She missed her friends. She had not contacted any of them since the time when Killua and Gon were in the Greed Island game. It was just too bad that she had to throw away her cell phone when they left her dummy in the ruin where they encountered the Hassammunin genie. She knew that the phone had a tracking device installed in it, so that Nostrad would be able to track her down in case she turned against him, or something like that.

Now she was completely isolated from the whole world that she knew of.

Kuroro, on the other hand, was not actually thinking about any particular issue. He was done with thinking the night before they departed from the Prancing Pony inn. He had thought of how his actions could change the world of someone else so drastically. He had observed the Kuruta girl. He had imagined; what if he had not massacred the Kuruta tribe, what if Kurapika had not been a Kuruta, what if, what if, and other what ifs. If all those 'what ifs' were true, he would not be stuck with the said girl now, he would not be travelling the whole world desperately seeking some elusive mythical creature to dissolve the spell, he would not have seen Ishtar unwillingly, and he would not have seen and learned things he had learned during his travel with the girl. Talking about pros and cons, even _he_, the brain of the Genei Ryodan, could no longer place whether the situation was generally beneficial or disadvantaging to him and his gang. He was, after all, someone who valued knowledge.

Suddenly, something hummed. Both Kurapika and Kuroro snapped from their own reveries and looked around in alert. The hum seemed close and immobile. After several seconds had passed, only then Kuroro realized that the hum had come from his pocket. Rummaging through his pocket, he took out the small bundle of the Fun Fun Cloth he had. It was vibrating slightly, like a phone vibrating when there was a call. Confused, he looked at it with frown; and so did Kurapika. Out of the blue, there was bright light coming from the cloth and before they could prepare for anything, the cloth exploded.

Clothes flew and scattered around them like confetti being thrown around in celebration. Kuroro donned the look of someone who had been electrocuted with small current, while Kurapika was gawking unceremoniously at the scene. Unfortunately for them, the ground they were standing on was not entirely dry. Some of the clothes landed on the pools of mud, some stuck on the low branches of the trees around them, one found its place on Kurapika's head, another one on Kuroro's shoulder.

"What is going on here?" She demanded after three long seconds of taking in the outrageous scene before her.

"It seems that he has just died." Kuroro answered coolly as he looked at the palm of his hand; where the Fun Fun Cloth had been just a few seconds ago.

"He? Who has just died?" Kurapika's eyes grew wider.

"That Injuu guy, the one who originally has this skill. The rule of my ability is when the owner of the skill dies, so does the skill that I stole." He shrugged, as if the fact that someone had just died did not bother him at the very least.

Kurapika frowned at his explanation. If Kuroro had managed to steal a skill from an Injuu, it could only mean that the Injuu was not as strong as the Godfathers claimed them to be. Well, she had seen Uvogin pummelling three of them like jelly.

"But more importantly, what are we going to do about this?" Kuroro inquired as he squatted down and picked a shirt that had been stained brown by the mud. Kurapika sighed.

"I guess we'll have to head back to town and buy some backpacks, and clean those clothes…" Kurapika said as she started gathering the clothes scattered around them.

"Looks like that's the best choice." Kuroro shrugged again and began collecting the clothes as well.

* * *

"Wel—oh! Hello!"

Fino beamed as she saw the duo entering the inn, but her happy face turned into that of a befuddled expression as she saw the heaps of clothes in their hands; some clean and most dirty. Kurapika's head was barely apparent above the mountain of clothes she was carrying. She could bet that they looked like some clowns. Fino blinked several times, trying to digest the situation. There had never been guests like them before.

"Uh…" Kurapika started, unsure on how she should explain the situation. "We need to clean our clothes. Our backpack is spoiled."

"And we will need to get new backpacks, so if you may, can you help us clean our clothes while we buy ourselves some backpacks?" Kuroro added.

"Oh, sure thing. Come on, I'll take you to the laundry area." _But that's weird, I didn't see them bringing any backpacks before_, she thought. _Oh well…_

So Fino led them to the so-called laundry area. She asked her mother to wash all the clothes. When the lady saw the heaps of dirty clothes, she almost fainted. "What have you been doing to get all these clothes dirty?" she had almost screamed, but she calmed down when Kurapika patiently explained the situation. Kurapika and Kuroro then left the inn to hunt for some backpacks.

When they returned, it was already evening. Fino welcomed them and led them to their room which she had prepared for them. She had inquired on why it took so long for them just to get two backpacks. None of them answered since both knew that the reason was simply because they bickered too much during the 'hunt'. They argued about designs, prices, and other trivial matters.

"Well then, see you tomorrow morning. Call me if you need anything, okay?" She told them politely and was about to excuse herself when suddenly a hand grabbed her elbow.

"Uh…" Kurapika looked at her with uneasiness. Fino regarded her with a look of nervousness and curiosity at the same time. Last time Kurapika had harshly told her to mind her own business, since she had insisted that Kuroro was Kurapika's boyfriend. She felt awkward with Kurapika, yet at the same time she intrigued her.

"I just want to say sorry…I've been harsh to you the last time…" Kurapika ducked her head in apology. Kuroro, meanwhile, was just observing her with amusement apparent on his face.

"Oh…Oooh, that one." Suddenly, Fino laughed merrily. Kurapika looked up and stared at the girl with unbelieving eyes.

"It's alright. That was my fault as well. My mother also has always told me not to meddle with other people's business too much. I'm sorry, too." She took Kurapika's hand and squeezed it warmly. "So, are we friends now?"

Kurapika was completely taken aback by her response. Well, she had expected forgiveness from her, since she looked like innocent girl, just like Gon, but this? She had not expected the innkeeper's daughter to ask her to be her friends. Kuroro raised an eyebrow and was further amused by the whole situation. He crossed his arms across his chest and continued observing.

"Friends?" Kurapika repeated Fino's word.

Somehow, hearing it from someone who had been stranger to her just a couple of days before made her feel uneasy. Kurapika did not easily trust everyone. Gon was special; he intrigued her since the first time she got to know him. Leorio had a big fight with her the first time they talked, and they learned to accept each other just because Gon intercepted. It took her longer to trust Killua since he had been somewhat different since the beginning. Only because Gon seemed to trust him so much that Kurapika learned to accept him as well. But this town girl? She asked to be her friend just like that?

"You don't want to?" If Fino was a cat, or dog, or rabbit, she would have had her ears laid flat on her head with disappointment.

"No, no! I mean…" Kurapika shook her head. "I…I guess it's fine." Yes, befriending such a simple town girl would not hurt, would it?

"Great! So what's your name?"

"Kurapika." She gave her a small smile.

"And you are?" She asked Kuroro, who was standing near Kurapika all the time (he did not have any choice now, did he?)

Kurapika turned her head and regarded Kuroro with a curious expression. Kuroro had always been careful not to reveal his identity as the head of Genei Ryodan. If unnecessary, he would not give his name so easily.

"Kuroro." He answered straight away and gave the simple girl a charming smile; which almost melted the girl into jelly. Kurapika seemed mildly shocked by his immediate response. "It's nice to get to know you, Fino."

Fino blushed furiously. She had not thought that an overnight guest would remember her name. After she excused herself from their room and stomped her way down to the hall like she always did, Kurapika turned to Kuroro and gave him a suspecting stare.

"What?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

"You just intend to make use of her, don't you? Be her acquaintance, then ask for easy help from her." She accused him.

"Hmm… " He played a smile, or rather a smirk, in his lips. "In a way, yes. But being her friend is not harmful to her, isn't it? It's a mutual symbiosis, so why not?"

Of course Kuroro was right. Seeing that she could not argue against him, Kurapika stayed mute to save her face. Besides, she was getting tired of arguing with him constantly. All she did was just to roll her eyes and muttered "Whatever."

* * *

He was having one of the rare peaceful slumbers he could get when he was awakened by the soft whispering in the middle of the night. Sleepily he tried to listen closely to the whisperings, to decide whether it was anything harmful or not. If it was nothing, he would drift back to sleep and forget it.

"…Let our blazing Scarlet Eyes bear witness…" So he heard the last sentence muttered by a certain someone.

Kuroro fluttered open his eyes. He thought of it for a while, before finally he decided to stealthily turn around and take a quick look at the girl. Yes, a certain girl who shared a room with him, with their beds joined together to make a make-shift queen-sized bed. The said girl was sitting with her back towards him. She was facing the window and seemed to be in a praying position. She repeated the prayer she was saying, and this time Kuroro could clearly hear it.

"Sun in the sky,

Trees upon the ground…

Our bodies are from the earth,

Our souls come from the Heavens above.

The Sun and the Moon rejuvenates our bodies,

Sends our bodies to the wind that blows across the plains.

Give thanks to the Gods who abode in the Heavens for the land of the Kuruta.

Let our spirits live in everlasting vigour and protection.

I seek to be capable of sharing the mirth with my people.

Offer homage to the people of the Kuruta Tribe,

Let our blazing Scarlet Eyes bear witness…"

He immediately knew that it was a kind of Kuruta prayer. Kuroro Lucifer was not a religious person; far from it. He was someone who only believed in himself and the convictions he held firm. Praying was something he never did, not even once in his lifetime. Deciding to let the girl alone with herself and her prayer, Kuroro pressed close his eyes and drifted back to his dreamless sleep. If the girl needed some kind of reassurance and she felt that she could get it from the prayer, then that was not his problem.

* * *

They were sorting through their clothes in the morning. Earlier Fino and her mother had brought their clean and dry laundry to their room. They had decided that they would carry their own clothes and necessities separately on their own, so as to avoid any troubles in the future. Fino helped them by folding their clothes, and she had graciously and generously separated Kurapika's 'special bundle' in another bundle.

Most of the time, though, she was looking at them closely, with eagerness in her eyes. Kurapika started to get uneasy with her stares, while Kuroro did not seem to mind at the very least. Finally, Kurapika decided to ask.

"Fino? Is there anything wrong?"

"Hm? No." She replied innocently.

"So why are you staring at us?"

"Because I think the red string legend is very romantic."

"Huh?" Kurapika furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. This time, the innkeeper's daughter's comment earned even Kuroro's attention. "What do you mean?" She asked again.

"There is this red light thingie that links the two of you, just like the Invisible Red String of Fate. I've never seen it before, but now that I see it, I think it's really romantic." She explained and her face started to look as if she was daydreaming.

"Red light?" Kurapika raised her eyebrows. At first she was confused of what the girl was talking about, but when she realized it, she turned to glance at Kuroro; and the man was looking at her as well. They were sharing the same thought. The genie's aura that bound them was indeed red in colour.

"Fino, you can see Nen?" Kurapika asked the girl unsurely.

"Nen? What's that?" The girl cocked her head sideways, clueless. "Actually, I've got pretty sharp spiritual sensitivity. I can see ghosts sometimes, and I can see people's aura most of the time." The girl said proudly.

"So…What's with the red string legend?" Kuroro finally asked curiously.

"It's just a myth that says that if two people are destined to be lovers, there will be this invisible red string that is bound from their pinky fingers." Fino explained as she pointed to her little finger, her grin wide and meaningful.

"And you believe it?" Kurapika said while sounding horrified.

"If it's really invisible, how can they know that it's really red, anyway?" Kuroro chuckled amusedly, and gave it no further thought.

"Well, who knows?" Fino shrugged, rather disappointed by their lack of proper reaction to her comment. She stood up and excused herself since there seemed to be nothing she could help with currently. Suddenly, a mischievous thought popped in her head as she walked towards the door. She turned around and gave them a final look.

"But then again, seeing the two of you, people can't help but to believe in it, don't they?"

With that, she ran away while giggling, as there was a furious roar of indignation coming from a certain blonde.

"FINO!"

At the same time, a certain raven haired man started laughing. "The Invisible Red String of Fate, huh? That's interesting." He mused.

Kurapika looked at him with her say-another-word-about-it-and-I'll-strangle-you-to-death glare. Kuroro looked at her closely, still unwilling to stop teasing her. Apparently, he noticed the faint blush on the girl's face.

"Now I know why the genie appropriately chooses red."

"You stop with this nonsense!" She yelled at him.

Kurapika then started grabbing her clothes violently and stuffed them to her backpack with a huff. Kuroro took his sweet time arranging his clothes in his backpack, revelling in Kurapika's annoyance.

"If anything…" He heard her mumbles. "…we are bound by the blood oath of vendetta that I swore upon the graves of my people…"

Kuroro frowned at her comments but said nothing about it. He kept up his mask of indifference and resumed in sorting and arranging his clothes. In all honesty, he was getting tired of the Kuruta girl's endless repetition of her vow to revenge her tribe and her self-proclaimed hatred towards him. He knew that he had many enemies, considering his profession, but to have one travelling with him was driving him nuts.

He might need to do something about it; somehow, somewhere in the future.

* * *

It was good two days after they had departed from Fino's little inn with their own respective backpacks slung on their backs. They were walking in silence, as usual, across the forest when suddenly Kurapika felt a pang of pain in her stomach. It felt as if her inside was stabbed by some fine needles. Surprised, she touched her stomach gingerly with one hand without stopping. She looked at it briefly, but the pain went away as soon as it had come. Dismissing the pain, she continued walking forwards.

The next three days, she continued to have the occasional pain in her abdomen, and the pain was getting worse and it lasted longer. She started to get disturbed by it, but she had not told Kuroro this matter. There was no way she would be telling the older man that she was having some trivial stomach aches, wouldn't she? But when the pain reached the peak, she could not stand it anymore. Kurapika stopped walking and squatted down, her backpack forgotten on the ground, her hand was rested on her stomach and her face was contorted as she tried to contain the pain.

"What's wrong?" Kuroro asked shortly upon realising that the girl had stopped.

Kurapika glanced around and spotted a river nearby.

"Can…Can I go to that river for a while…?" She asked weakly, not caring that she sounded as if she was asking permission from him.

Kuroro frowned in confusion at her odd attitude. He looked at her closely, trying to see what was wrong with her. He finally nodded in silence agreement and both of them headed towards the river. He waited behind the bushes at the edge of the river, while Kurapika did whatever business she needed to do at the stream.

Kurapika scooped a handful of fresh water and splashed her face with it. She could feel her face turning white and the cold sweat that was drenching her. The pain was torturing her, and she had no idea where it came from. She was sure she had not eaten anything weird, so it could not be food poisoning. She sat down on the grass by the stream, trying to think on what was wrong with her inside, when she felt her pants getting wet.

Cursing inaudibly underneath her breath, she stood up as she thought that she had sat on wet ground, but when she saw bloodstain on the ground she had been sitting on a few seconds ago, Kurapika froze. Suddenly, she knew what was going on with her body, and it definitely not good AT ALL. She had just started to get panicked the circumstances she was in, when the pain worsened the situation by assaulting her violently. She let out a moan of pain as she dropped to the ground, clutching her stomach.

The bushes behind her ruffled and Kuroro emerged from it, thinking that something had happened to her and he wanted to check. When he spotted her on the ground, curling into a ball and groaning in pain, he squatted before her and frowned at her with confusion.

"What happened?" He asked, not understanding her pain.

"I'm…Uh…" Even speaking took effort now. "The Prancing Pony…"

"What?" Kuroro thought he misheard her words. What did the inn have to do with her right now?

"Get me…there…" She grabbed his arm, which he never anticipated she would do. If anything, the girl loathed any skin contact with him. "_Quick!_" She emphasised.

Kurapika made it sound as if her life depended on it, and Kuroro, not perceiving the circumstances she was in, could only comply with her wish. Seeing that she could not stand up on her legs anymore due to the pain, Kuroro had to scoop her in his arms and rushed her there blindly. He had not, however, forgotten their backpacks.

* * *

Just as they entered the village in less than one day (hours actually), with Kurapika in Kuroro's arms, lucky for them Fino was the one who spotted them as they made their way to her inn. She thought that Kurapika had fallen sick again (the last time they were in the inn, she had a high fever). When Kurapika grabbed her hand and whispered "period" to her, her face bleached and flushed at the same time. Fino dragged them; or more precisely Kuroro, towards the inn, and when they got into a room that she had randomly picked for them, she asked Kuroro to let her handle Kurapika for the rest.

Kuroro, who had no idea on what was going on, was only told to stay out of the way. He happily obliged and waited outside the bathroom. Earlier, Fino had dragged Kurapika into the bathroom and locked themselves in that room. Soon, the innkeeper came into the room with befuddled face and inquired him on what was going on with all the fusses.

"I have not the slightest idea, either." He honestly told him with a shrug.

When everything had seemed to settle, Fino emerged from the bathroom with Kurapika leaning against her. She looked weaker then ever in Kuroro's eyes. It was as if something was draining the life out of her. Fino helped her lie on the bed and held her hands while whispering some words of reassurance to her. After a while, when Kurapika had seemed to calm down, Fino got up and spared Kuroro a fleeting reassuring glance as well; which he did not know what for. She then excused herself from the room without enlightening him on what had actually happened.

Kuroro turned to Kurapika, who had curled herself into a ball again. He stood near the edge of the bed and looked at her with curiosity.

"What happened?" He finally asked.

"Fino didn't tell you?" She asked while looking at him tiredly, with a _blush_.

He shook his head. "She just went out without saying anything. What's going on?" He did not like the prospect of him not understanding about what was going on around him.

Kurapika groaned in pain and embarrassment. She had hoped that Fino would have spared her the humiliation of having to explain to Kuroro Lucifer, of all people, that she was turning into a mature woman physically. She clutched the pillow and inhaled, as if trying to brace herself for whatever was coming her way, embarrassment or not.

"I just…want to die…" She muttered under her breath.

"Because?" _Now this is interesting_, Kuroro thought as he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm having my period."

Kuroro looked at her quizzically, not understanding what she meant with 'period'. Kurapika rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Menstrual period!" She hissed and looked away, too embarrassed to look at him.

"Ah…" He remembered then. Machi had mentioned something like that when she was in really, really bad mood. He overheard her talking with the other girls about the curse of monthly menstrual period, but he was not interested in it so he paid no heed to it.

Suddenly Kurapika groaned in pain again and buried her face in the pillow. She curled her body into a tighter ball. Kuroro frowned at her.

"Is it really that painful?"

"Like I said…I want to die…" Kurapika answered with weak voice, as if she was really dying. "Curse you and all other males…for not suffering as we do…"

"Well, that's just too bad." Kuroro grinned and shrugged. He pocketed his hands while Kurapika shot him a resentful glare, but it was soon overwhelmed by the pain in her abdomen.

"Urk…"

Kuroro looked at her with mix of amusement and pity. When the girls in his gang were having their periods, they never seemed to be suffering as much as Kurapika did. Their moods only turned sour, and that was all. But really, the Kuruta girl looked so pitiful now, twitching and groaning in pain, as if she was being killed from the insides. Maybe that was really how it felt like, if a description was needed.

"That's why…" Kurapika suddenly said.

"Hm?"

"That's why I don't want to travel as a girl…This is just too troublesome…" She muttered.

_Troublesome for me too,_ Kuroro bitterly thought. With Kurapika as a girl, there were many considerations they had to take during their conditional travels. Sleeping accommodations in inns and hotels, bathing time, and now this. He had sometimes secretly wished that Kurapika had not turned back into a girl she originally was.

"And that's why I'm going to make you suffer as well…" She added with vengeance.

Kuroro had not understood what she meant with her words. He thought she was just bubbling incoherently as she was trying to bear the pain. Oh boy, how he was gravely mistaken. Kurapika's moods turned extremely sour whenever she had her periods, and he was the target of her sourness, always. She would treat him coldly, rudely, harshly, anything negative. Fino had expressed her sympathy for him when they had departed from the inn; as Kurapika was still in very foul mood and was taking out everything on Kuroro. She did, however, thank the innkeeper's daughter for her help in taking care of her and supplying her for her 'needs'.

And so they resumed their journey, only now Kuroro had to look out whenever Kurapika was about to have her monthly period, and he had to be extra careful when she was having her period. He would have to brace himself for the coming stormy bad days.

* * *

"Ne, Killua. What do you want to order?"

"Hng…I don't know. There's nothing interesting here. They don't even have parfait!" Killua said as he perused the menu lazily.

"Well, this is quite a small town. I guess they don't really have much to offer."

"Hmm…Then what are you going to have, Gon?" The white-haired boy asked while his eyes were still glued on the menu.

"Kurapika."

"What?" Killua immediately stopped reading the menu and looked up to Gon. "Gon, I know you miss him but the menu doesn't have any dish with the name 'Kurapika' here. Anyway, you watched the news. He is dead…" Killua looked away. He tasted bile as he spoke his own words. They had been devastated when they saw the news. Was Gon having a hard time forgetting their dead friend?

"No. That's Kurapika, isn't it?" Gon said as he straightened up and his gaze was fixed straight to a certain direction.

"Hn? Where?" Killua turned around to see whether Kurapika was really there or not. He thought Gon was just seeing his ghost, but by golly, he was mistaken.

* * *

"Whether I keep in touch with my friends or not, that is none of your business." Kurapika said with exasperation. Why did the man had to meddle with her business so much? It did not even concern him.

"Well, I was just wondering. Is it because you don't want them to get involved in all this?" Kuroro asked casually as he walked down the staircase after Kurapika, his hands in his pockets and his backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Like I said, it's none of your business!" She turned around and glared at him. "And why are you so curious about it?"

"Because…" Kuroro looked up over Kurapika's head. "I see them coming this way."

"KURAPIKAA!"

_Oh no._ Kurapika held her breath and froze.

When she turned around, she saw white hair and black hair at the bottom of the staircase. Gon looked at her with sheer happiness, while Killua frowned when he looked at them. Gon called out her name again with a squeal, but Killua hurriedly grabbed his best friend's arm. The spiky-haired boy turned around and regarded Killua with a confused look and a pout.

"Wait, Gon! Look there further above!" Killua gestured with a nod of head. Gon obediently turned around and saw what Killua was referring to.

"Kuroro Lucifer!" He cried out, his eyes bulging in disbelief.

"We meet again, kids." Kuroro addressed them casually, a smirk playing in his lips.

"Why are you here?" Killua demanded as they assumed battle stance.

"What I do in my free time is none of your concern." He answered vaguely, but he took a brief glance at Kurapika, who looked like she had forgotten how to breathe.

"And Kurapika, what are you doing with him? I thought you want to kill him to avenge your tribe?" Gon asked with pleading look. "And I thought you were killed! What happened?"

Kurapika gasped inaudibly, her body tensed up as the boy reminded her of her oath to revenge her clan.

"Gon, that's not Kurapika. It's a girl." Killua said, but his eyes never leaving Kuroro.

Although Kuroro kept his mask of coldness, inside he was gleefully grinning. Kurapika, on the other hand, was praying vehemently that Killua could convince the other boy that she was not the Kurapika they knew.

"Really?" Gon innocently asked Killua with wide eyes.

"Look there. She's definitely a she. Kurapika is a boy, remember? We've seen him in his training jersey during the Hunter Exam, and he definitely has flat chest." Killua told him.

"But that one has flat chest too."

"That's because she's got small boobs."

Despite her wish that they would think she was not the Kurapika they knew, still Killua's statement made her feel like her heart was being stabbed and minced and sliced into fillet. Kuroro even snorted in amusement, and it took all he had not to laugh out loud.

"Then…" Gon turned around and looked at her once more time. "She's a Spider?"

Kurapika's eyes widened, while Kuroro raised an eyebrow. _Trouble_, he thought.

"Maybe." Killua shrugged.

That was all she needed to burst into rage.

"I WILL NEVER JOIN THE SPIDERS!" She yelled and her eyes turned crimson.

Her outrage took the boys by surprise, and the occupants of the inn looked at her direction with mix of annoyance and shock. When she came to her sense, Kurapika gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, while her irises rapidly turned back to their normal hue of oceanic blue. As her face bleached, the boys had their mouths hanging open.

"You are really Kurapika?" Killua asked cautiously. He turned to Kuroro, who was still grinning amusedly. "Is she really our Kurapika?"

"Well…" He shrugged.

"Kurapika, what's wrong?" Fino inquired with concern in her voice as she approached them. She had no idea that she had just answered Killua's question.

"Fino, everything's alright. You can go back to your work." Kuroro told her calmly. He did not want her to unnecessarily know about their circumstances.

"Are you sure? But just now…" Fino looked at Kurapika with doubts in her eyes.

"It's alright. But we'll need to use the room for a little while more. Is that fine?" Kuroro asked again, this time he was already half-turning to climb up the staircase and his hand was already gripping Kurapika's frozen elbow.

"I—I think that's fine…I'll tell dad…" She muttered before she walked away unwillingly.

As Fino left the scene, Kuroro turned to the boys and gestured at them to follow him. He then dragged the still-frozen Kurapika by her elbow. Gon and Killua exchanged worried look, but nonetheless they still followed the head of Genei Ryodan to the second floor, and into the room which had been previously occupied by Kurapika and Kuroro. Kuroro dropped Kurapika to the nearest chair. By then she was still in a daze.

"I suggest you tell them about our circumstances." Kuroro said with flat voice as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned on one leg.

"What circumstances? I don't get it. Kurapika is supposed to be a boy." Killua said with deep frown.

"Supposedly." Kuroro stressed the word as he looked at Killua with sharp eyes.

"Kurapika?" Gon approached Kurapika gingerly. He had a confused look on his face.

The said girl inhaled deeply and exhaled. She clenched the chair's hand support and closed her eyes. She repeated her inhaling and exhaling until her heart had settled down, and she finally unclenched her trembling hands. She took a deep breath before she looked up and stared at Gon's face with much-calmer look on her ashen pale face.

"Yes, Gon. I'm Kurapika, and I'm a girl." She said, her voice almost a whisper.

"What happened?" He asked with sad voice.

"I'm originally a girl. I'm sorry, but I've been deceiving you guys all this time." She shook her head sadly and looked at them in the eyes. "The seal that disguised me was broken."

"Ok, that's one thing you've explained, and I understand that. I don't mind that." Killua said, his voice steady yet edgy. "But tell me, Kurapika, why are you with that guy, of all people?" He asked as he pointed at Kuroro with accusing finger.

"You are supposed to be enemies." Gon nodded vigorously.

"And enemies we are still. It's just that…" Suddenly, Kurapika felt very tired. She did not want to explain the whole situation to them.

"I'll explain to them." Kuroro volunteered as he stepped forward. Kurapika looked at him with surprise evident on her weary face, but said nothing to stop him. If anything, she was grateful that he had generously offered to spare her the burden.

"I don't trust you." Killua said as he stepped back, still wary of the raven haired man.

"Well, if I lied to you, she would protest, no?" He smirked at him, which made Killua uneasy.

So, not bothering to check whether they trusted his stories or not, Kuroro told them of their encounter with Hassamunnin the genie and the conditions he had laid on the two of them. He also showed them the red aura that bound them. During the entire session, Kurapika said nothing at all, merely looking down to the floor. Gon looked at Kuroro straight in the eyes as he told them the story, while Killua glanced at Kurapika now and then with constant frown on his forehead.

"I see…" Gon mumbled when Kuroro was finished.

"I misjudged you, Kurapika. I thought you were willing to avenge your tribe, even if your life is the gamble." Killua said disapprovingly to Kurapika, who still had not said anything.

Kurapika said nothing. Killua held his breath in vexation, and when he was just about to storm out of the room, he heard Kurapika's whisper.

"…I've told Leorio this: my dignity means nothing compared to what my kinfolks had suffered from."

"Precisely!" He turned around and glared at her. "Precisely because of that, you should have taken his life as soon as you have the chance!"

"Killua! She'll die too!" Gon protested.

"She vowed to take revenge even if her LIFE is the price!" Killua was close to yelling then.

"You are right." Kurapika nodded, her voice was regaining her strength. "I did vow so. However, what is the point of killing this one man, when the others are still around?" She looked at Killua, daring him to argue against her.

"And what is the point…if at the end my tribe is really driven to extinction because of me?"

Killua held his breath in surprise and gasped. Gon did the same, but he looked at both Kurapika and Killua in anticipation. He did not know what to say. Heck, he was not even following what they were arguing about. Kuroro, on the other hand, was merely observing the situation. If he was to say anything, he would say that Kurapika was winning the battle.

"Ceh!" Killua spat and stormed out of the room.

"Killua!" Gon called out to him, but he looked at Kurapika with torn expression.

"Go with him, Gon." Kurapika nodded and smiled at him, although Gon knew that her smile was full of sadness.

Reluctantly, Gon went after the fuming Killua, leaving the two of them alone in the room. Silence filled the room. Kuroro looked at the door where the two boys had disappeared into, and then he looked at the forlorn girl sitting next to him.

"Are you fine with it?"

"It's okay…Besides, I don't want them to get involved in this mess." She said with small voice, her eyes glued to the floor.

"I see. If that's what you want." He looked away and out of the window. It was about approaching noon. They should be on their way by then. "Shall we go?"

"…Yes." Kurapika got up and wordlessly followed after Kuroro.

Truth to be said, she really did not want to go. She was not in the mood to go on a journey at all. However, she did not want to be seen as a cry-baby, especially not by _that_ man. She would be strong, as she had promised her brother long time ago. She would stay strong, no matter what, even if her friends abandoned her…

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: As promised, loads of comedy in this chapter. Is it bad to end the chapter with slight angst, though? Anyway, I felt that it was time to put in those two boys into the story. "That's because she's got small boobs." Pfft, I'm sorry but I just got that impression from a female Kurapika. Sorry if anyone else disagreed. Then again, it was just a matter of perspective, no? And for **gyo mapuri**__, you gave me the inspiration to write about Fuu, the rightful owner of the Fun Fun Cloth. You reminded me that he would not last long when he was held captive by the Genei Ryodan, so yeah…Sorry but I killed your favourite Injuu guy =P _

_**Next**__: One time, Kuroro got curious about her Nen chains and inquired about it. He even told her that if she did not do something about it, she would have troubles in future battles. Too soon to be true, his prediction became reality. In the moment of trouble, though, they both remembered a tiny bit fragments of their pasts. _


	8. Chapter 8: A Touch of the Past

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter._

_**Story so far**__: After a series of problems, they finally resumed their journey. But bad luck always followed them, they got into more problems again. Who would have thought that in the midst of their troubles, they would once again remember a piece of their pasts?_

_**Author's BIG NOTE**: Sorry for a discrepancy with the story before, since the Injuu guy who originally owned the Fun Fun Cloth skill was supposedly dead in the previous chapter. You see, the Double Trouble chapter was added at very last minute on a whim, so yeah...Simply put I forgot to re-edit this chapter..._

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**Chapter 8**

**_A TOUCH OF THE PAST_**

* * *

"What happened to your chain?"

Kurapika stopped her chores and turned to look at Kuroro with bewildered eyes, asking him to elaborate. She was washing the blood stain on her clothes; again they had encountered some bounty hunters aiming for Kuroro's head. Much to her annoyance, Kuroro's clothes remained clean and stainless.

"Why didn't you use the chain you used on me back then in Yorkshin?" He clarified.

"Oh." She mumbled and continued rubbing the stain off her shirt. "I can't. There is a condition on it. You should already know about this."

"That you can only use it on the Genei Ryodan and no others, otherwise you will die?"

"Yes." She answered curtly. She got up and dusted the dry leaves off her pants, and Kuroro stood up.

Since the incident in The Prancing Pony inn, where she had caught fever and had some delirium, Kurapika had become somewhat less belligerent towards him, although she was still keeping her distance from him. Kuroro remained as he was, keeping to himself and detached, but he started warming up to her and talking with her more. Usually he would ask her questions out of curiosity, and sometimes, more often than not, those questions would earn him her warning glare; without the crimson shot, though.

"Why don't you change the conditions? It's getting too troublesome in combats. You can't fight full force."

Kurapika snorted softly. Of course she knew about it. It was not like she was ignorant or anything, but that was not an easy thing to do. Her heart was wrapped by a Judgment Chain, and she could not remove it just like that. Someone else had to remove it for her. She told Kuroro this with even tone, as if she cared nothing about it.

"Hmm…" Kuroro covered his mouth with his hand as they walked side by side across the forest. "If the Judgment Chain is removed, the chains will disappear as well. But you can make a new condition and a new pledge, don't you?"

"True. But truthfully, even if I manage to remove the Judgment Chain, I have no idea what new conditions I will make. At least ones that will grant my chain equal strength to the present one." Kurapika said.

For her, capturing the Genei Ryodan had been her lifetime goal. She was willing to discard anything in order to fulfil it; she had no other goal for her chain to serve that had equal weight to her quest of vendetta. Her eyes narrowed at this thought, and she became troubled again. Even though she had sworn to exterminate the Spiders to avenge her people, here she was strolling across a forest with the _leader_ of the Spiders itself, and at a _very close_ proximity to him, on top of that (not that she could help it). Kurapika looked down and absentmindedly fiddled with the ring on her index finger. Previously, she had never paid any close attention to it, but lately she always had the chance to stare at the ring and the features of the ring were soon embedded in her memory.

The ring was simple enough. It was silver, and in the middle of it was as aquamarine gemstone. Ishtar had purposely given her the one with aquamarine, because it matched her eyes, she had said. Along the body of the ring was the faint markings of some ancient language; the one dated back to the times where there was no books and thus the knowledge was forever lost. When Kurapika brushed the silver body of the ring, she could feel the smoothness and the flawlessness of the ring, perfectly moulded by the creator. She would feel a faint aura emitting from the ring, but that was all it did. Ishtar said that the stone would change colour if it detected any magical beings nearby, but so far there was none of it.

Kuroro observed Kurapika with the corner of his eyes. The girl had somehow turned quiet and had ceased with her harsh words. Every time she talked to him, there was always an edge in her voice, like she was putting effort just to talk to him. These days, notably after the incident at the inn, she talked to him with what he might call her normal voice. Kuroro also noticed her new habit of fingering the ring as if trying to distract herself from some dark thoughts. He looked at his ring; it was an identical ring to Kurapika's, except that the stone was an onyx.

_However much I want to deny it, he is right. I can't keep up with this. I need to do something with my Nen chain. So far, the hunters that come after us are small fries, but if stronger hunters and Nen-users come…I don't want to depend on him. I need to be independent, therefore I need to be able to protect myself without needing him to protect me…_Kurapika thought deeply. She frowned with bitterness. _And it looks like that we won't finish this business soon._

"Get ready." Suddenly Kuroro told her with soft voice.

Kurapika flinched when she heard his voice so close to her ear, and she thanked Gods that she did not _blush_ (she did not want unnecessary teasing from Kuroro anymore than he already did routinely, since the older man seemed to have a knack of teasing the wit out of her) because her Hunter instinct kicked in and she could feel the presence of the hunters surrounding them, waiting to ambush them.

"Three in front, two behind, two at each side." She muttered under her breath.

"Very good. I see you are a pro Hunter not for nothing."

"Don't mock me." She scowled at him, but kept her body relaxed, pretending that they did not notice the presence of the hunters. "I did capture you once."

"You're right, and you even rendered me powerless for weeks." He chuckled amusedly. Kurapika rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Just as she was about to hurl some insults, she sensed movements to her right. Kurapika flexed her wrists and her fingers, yet kept walking in a calm manner as if she had not noticed anything.

"First is from the sides." Kuroro mused as the bushes ruffled. As Kurapika had predicted, two men sprung from each side, their weapons ready to hack the two. Kuroro flicked his wrists and soon two of his special pins were embedded deep into their foreheads, kicking the life out of them in an instant. Kurapika summoned her Dowsing Chain and plunge the dowsing ball towards their faces in turns; knocking the light out of them. Kuroro sighed.

"Second wave from behind." He mumbled and threw two of his pins over his shoulder without even taking an aim. The two pins found their target accurately, killing another two. Kurapika flinched at Kuroro's display of cold-blooded killing. She looked at the bodies with mix of pity and disgust.

"Save the best for the last, eh?" Kuroro smiled and pivoted his weight to his left leg.

In response, three men jumped from the trees and landed on the ground with a soft thud. Kurapika recognised them straight away that they were Nen-users. She really wanted to groan. Troubles were the last thing she wanted, but Nen-users coming after them plus their blasted circumstances just spelled big T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

"You are really good, as the rumours said." One of them, a big hulking man with gruff voice said.

"As expected from the boss of the Genei Ryodan, eh?" The bearded man who looked like a Viking said.

"But I didn't expect you to be travelling with a girl. I thought you are the solitary type. Your girlfriend?" The smallest one, with impish face, sneered.

"Then you are in for a surprise." Kuroro merely responded as he reached out and locked Kurapika's slender fingers in his. "My girlfriend here is just as tough as any of you." He grinned, but his grin was directed to the seething Kuruta next to him.

"You jerk—" Kurapika gritted her teeth, trying to swallow the yell that was threatening to explode in her throats. Quarrelling with him now was not the best choice, given that there were Nen-users after them. She would settle the score with him _later_.

The fight began as HulkMan lunged at them, his fist raised to pound them. The fist met the empty ground and crushed it like mud. The next second, his temple was met with a hard blow from a knee and it sent him flying across the field. The couple landed on the now ruined ground with ease.

"I see he's not joking when he said the girl is tough." The ImpMan giggled impishly. "Interesting, really interesting." He chuckled as he leered at Kurapika, sending her goose-bumps.

The VikingMan let out a loud roar and charged at them, his gigantic axe ready in his hand. He swung the axe at them, but with one hand Kuroro stopped the axe, although the ground below him crunched upon impact. The VikingMan grunted and put in more strength in the axe, but it did not budge. Kuroro raised an eyebrow.

"This is nothing compared to Uvo's brute strength." He commented. He saw blurry movement to his right and saw a kick flying. Kurapika's heel met VikingMan's jaw hard, sending him somersaulting in the air, his axe forgotten in Kuroro's grip.

"You are really in a bad mood today." Kuroro said as he tossed aside the axe.

"And whose fault do you think it is?" She snarled unhappily at him, but kept her attention at the ImpMan.

The ImpMan grinned evilly at her, and suddenly she felt a quick movement on the ground. Before she could respond, the ground beneath her collapse and she was sucked into the gaping earth. She gasped in surprise, but Kuroro's grip tightened and she felt a strong pull upwards. The next moment, Kuroro had his arm wrapped around her thin waist and he jumped backwards to gauge a distance from the ImpMan.

"Oh, too bad. I almost got her." The ImpMan 'tsk'ed. A big creature that looked like a crab and a beetle screeched from the open ground and it retreated back into the darkness of the earth. "But as long as you are on the ground, I can get you."

The ground shook again, and Kuroro jumped to a tree branch, still with Kurapika in his arm, just as the ground collapsed. The earth creature screeched in annoyance as it lost its target once again. As Kuroro landed on the branch, Kurapika heard the voice of a sharp object cleaving the air, dashing towards them. She summoned her Dowsing Chain and repelled whatever projectile coming towards them. A pair of disc-like axes manipulated by Nen floated in the air for a moment and flew back to the owner. The VikingMan grabbed the two axes and licked his bleeding lips. Before the two on top of the tree could respond, the tree shook violently. In fact, the tree was falling down as the HulkMan had punched the tree trunk below them and shattered it; he was definitely from the Enhancement group.

Kuroro jumped from the falling tree; still carrying Kurapika in his one arm, and was about to land on the ground when the ground split open and the ImpMan's pet waited to swallow them. Kurapika responded quickly by extending and wrapping her Dowsing Chain around another branch of tree. She pulled the two of them away from the underground creature; this time Kuroro was dangling on her waist. Using the momentum, the two of them swung and landed on the tree branch.

"Hands off!" Kurapika hissed and swatted Kuroro's hand away as soon as their feet touched the branch. Kuroro only shrugged and complied nonetheless.

"You can't get away!" The VikingMan roared and threw his axes again towards them. This time, Kurapika did not only deflect the axes, but wrapped her chain around the hilts and threw them towards the crab-beetle creature still exposed on the gaping ground. The forest was soon filled by the deafening cry of the creature's dying scream; which lasted only for a few seconds.

"You—How dare you kill my lovely pet!" ImpMan screeched in indignation and at the same time HulkMan cut down the tree they were at.

This time, they landed on the safe ground, only to be greeted by VikingMan's cleaving moves. Both dodged VikingMan's attacked with a dance of their own, waltzing around the slow huge man. From the corner of her eyes, she saw something coming and with her Dowsing Chain intercepted it. She caught a few razor-sharp needles, treated with poisons at the end of each needle. The ImpMan kept showering them with his poisonous needles, and Kurapika had to keep on deflecting them. Meanwhile, Kuroro had to face the two men on his own. Both of them could only use one of their hands due to the restricted space allowed by Hassamunnin's bind, and it really limited their range of attack and defence.

Kuroro shot his pin at VikingMan and it stabbed his forehead deep, killing him in an instant. At the same time, HulkMan changed his target and aimed for Kurapika's defenceless head, since the girl was still occupied by ImpMan's torrent of needles. Kurapika noticed his attack and risked a second to kick the HulkMan in the face and dodged before his fist crushed her head. In this split second, ImpMan used his chance to send another shower of needles, and Kurapika had no time to block it. Kuroro saw the needles coming.

He deflected most of the needles with his pin, but some were still on their way to Kurapika's unprotected head. If they pierced her head, she would instantly die; which meant his death as well. Risking his arm, he used it as shield. The needles pierced his flesh deep and his face contorted in pain but he did not make any sound. Ignoring the pain, he threw his own pin and it successfully hit the target; ImpMan's forehead, with perfect accuracy in one shot. ImpMan dropped dead instantly.

A cracking sound was heard and the HulkMan dropped to the ground with his jaw broken by Kurapika's punch. Kurapika spun around as Kuroro let go of her hand and saw him plucking the needles from his limp arm that was hanging from his shoulder. She knew that she should have thanked him, but the thought of Kuroro Lucifer protecting her to the point of sacrificing his arm had been too far-fetched for her. She felt a wee-bit guilty, but quickly brushed it aside.

"Your arm." She managed.

"Finish him." Kuroro only said. Kurapika raised her eyebrow at his commanding voice. Kuroro looked at him and gestured at the unconscious HulkMan on the ground with his head. "Kill him."

"No." She responded quickly.

"Finish him like you did Uvo." He repeated, this time his tone colder

"No, I have no grudge against him." Kurapika said again stubbornly. Kuroro snorted contemptuously at her stubbornness; the first time he did so and it surprised her. She had been so used to Kuroro's usual easy attitude with her, she had never seen him so harsh on her before.

"So you will wait until he kills one of you friends, only then you will kill him?" He challenged her, his annoyance clearly broadcasted.

Kurapika held her breath in shock. Kuroro _glared_ at her with his deep black eyes, those cold eyes disapproving her attitude. His words did make sense. How if the man woke up and was enraged by the humiliation and decided to take revenge. How if he decided to track down her friends and killed them to torture her? No, Gon, Killua and Leorio were not easy to defeat, but how if they did some dirty tricks against them? She knew that Kuroro was just being prudent and cautious. She just did not want to kill…She was afraid to kill; to dirty her hands with the blood of her opponents. But she did kill already. Uvogin and Pakunoda, she killed them.

Kuroro stared at her for a while, until he finally sighed and killed the HulkMan himself; by piercing his forehead with his pin. Kurapika noticed that he was using his unharmed left hand. She frowned slightly.

"Your arm." She stated again.

"Don't bother. The needles are treated with paralyzing poison, but it should be okay by two or three hours." He said, with a tinge of irritation in his deep voice.

Silently, they resumed their journey. For half a day they walked side-by-side in awkwardness. Actually, it was Kurapika who felt awkward mostly. She felt ashamed of herself; of her selfishness, of her childishness. She thought back of the time during the Hunter Exam, when they were in the Trick Tower and had to go through a tournament against the criminals. She had refused to kill the Ryodan-member-wannabe, because she did not want to hurt a harmless person. She remembered Leorio's words; who had kindly taken care of him for her.

"_I've taken care of the baggage that your pride has left behind."_

That was true. Clinging to her Kuruta pride, she refused to kill him for no reason. Killua had confronted her then.

"_You are afraid to kill, aren't you?"_

Yes, she was, but she made her excuse she named as her 'belief'. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, truth was truth. She held the pride of the Kuruta tribe highly, but at the end of the day, she was just an irresponsible person. Her pride did not allow her to kill the man, but she could have thought of something else to finish the match. In the end, Leorio had to do it for her. She was ashamed of herself.

Thunder rolled from distance away, and the sky was getting darker. Kuroro looked up and smelled the air. The rumbling sound of thunders again filled the sky.

"It's going to r—rain…" He muttered to Kurapika without turning around.

Kurapika frowned at his voice. He seemed to stutter but Kuroro Lucifer _never_ stuttered. He was as confident as a cock could be, and would never display anything that implied any lack of confidence. She stared at Kuroro's back for a few second, but shook her head lightly. She might have imagined things, and Kuroro might have never stuttered anyway. She was not really focused at the moment, so Kurapika dismissed the thought.

* * *

The downpour soaked them thoroughly from head to toe, and they continued looking for shelter. Even the canopy of the forest was not enough to shelter them from the heavy rain. After a few minutes drenched in cold rainwater, Kurapika finally spotted a cave. They ran towards the cave, but along the way Kuroro stumbled a few times and it did not escape Kurapika's keen observation. She said nothing regarding it, though.

Once they reached the cave, they quickly settled further into the darkness of the cave, away from the splashing rainwater from the mouth of the cave. Kuroro sat down gracefully, although Kurapika did notice the slight stiffness in his usually smooth movements. Before Kurapika could sit down, Kuroro spoke up.

"Get changed."

Kurapika looked at him with slight frown, while the man turned around with his back facing her. Kurapika begrudgingly understood what he was telling her. He wanted her to dry herself and changed her soaked clothes with the dry ones. Both had no desire to catch cold, as both had no desire to nurse each other. Wordlessly, Kurapika turned her back towards him and rummaged through her soaked backpack in search for any suitable clothes and a towel. Lucky the backpack was made from waterproof material, so the content was dry. Kurapika changed her clothes quickly. She no longer threatened Kuroro from taking a peek at her, because somehow she trusted Kuroro enough not to do something so low. Kurapika realised of what she was thinking of and berated herself for it. Why was she thinking so highly of her enemy? But then again, her enemy was no ordinary enemy. He was, after all, Kuroro Lucifer.

"I'm done." She mumbled and kept her back towards Kuroro. She heard the rustles of clothes being taken off and put on, and the scrubbing sound of towel against flesh.

When both were done changing their clothes, they laid out their wet clothes on the ground to dry them. Kurapika settled down at the maximum distance their bind allowed them, finally realising that the bind had expanded last time; she sat down while hugging her legs close to her body to retain the little warmth the small cave provided them. Kuroro sat with one leg propped up and the other was laid on the level ground. He clenched and unclenched his fist, and she realised that his fist was shaking. He narrowed his dark eyes in what might be interpreted as annoyance. Kurapika stared at him for a few moments, debating with herself whether or not she should speak.

"What's wrong with you?" She finally asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Kuroro turned to look at her and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I'm not blind. I know something is wrong with your body." Kurapika said silently. Kuroro stared at her intensely for a moment, as if judging whether or not he should tell her of his predicament.

"Tetanus." He finally said.

"What?" Kurapika blinked.

"I think I might be getting tetanus." Kuroro said again with monotonous voice, as if it was no big deal.

"You are getting tetanus?" Kurapika shifted in her position to face Kuroro. "But how—the needles?"

"Maybe." Kuroro shrugged.

"But how can you be sure?"

"I'm not sure yet. My jaw muscles are getting stiffer since a few hours ago. If it really is tetanus, then the bacteria might have been modified to make it a few times stronger than the normal bacteria… Lockjaw usually occurs in 7 days, but in this case, it only takes half a day to reach lockjaw stage." Kuroro explained. "Which means…it may only take a few short days before this turns fatal."

"How can you say it so calmly as if _you_ are not the contracted one?" Kurapika blurted out. She then remembered Senritsu's description of Kuroro's heartbeat. He lived side-by-side with death, accepting it as one would accept life. He did not fear death, and even embraced it. Kurapika shuddered involuntarily, and was thankful of the darkness of the cave that Kuroro did not notice the small gesture.

"Does it make any difference? I won't die because of this." He shrugged indifferently. "Besides, this also might not be tetanus. It's still guesswork so far."

"Yeah, right. Of course you won't die." Kurapika said, her voice heavy with sarcasm. "If you really die, imagine how the world will react. Kuroro Lucifer dies of tetanus."

Kuroro raised an eyebrow. "Your mood is really foul today."

"And why do you think it is?" She snapped at him. "My, you sure talk a lot for someone who gets tetanus."

"Because they called you my girlfriend?"

"That, and because YOU called me your girlfriend." Kurapika glared at him; her scarlet eyes glowing eerily in the darkness of the cave. They looked like a pair of pale ruby floating in the air. "Like that will ever happen. Not in a million of years. Over my dead body."

"Phinks is right. You really have no sense of humour." Kuroro sighed.

"Excuse me? Why should I be fraternising with you and have some sense of humour when you are around? Besides, I have no time to develop some freaking sense of humour when I am supposed to collect my comrades' eyes and kill every single one of you!"

Her voice echoed in the small cave. Kuroro looked at her with straight eyes but said nothing. Kurapika gritted her teeth, pressed her eyes closed and turned away. She brought her knees closer to her chest and hugged them. She buried her face in her knees, trying to calm her anger. Goodness, she felt like crying out of her seething anger but she would never do that.

Kuroro looked at the girl closely. The Kuruta girl was becoming more open of her feelings; although most of them consisted of her contempt and hatred towards him and his gang. Still, he could not help but to realise how broken she was. There, less than one metre away from him, the girl was hugging herself, trying to contain her emotions on her own, fighting the world alone. If he had to compare her with, let say, Machi; the ground was not even. Machi was born in Ryuusei-gai, exposed to violence and the likes since the day she could talk and walk. Kurapika, on the other hand, had her peaceful world robbed away from her in the most violent way possible; and he was the mastermind behind it. The event traumatised her to the point that she could discard everything and walked down the path of vendetta.

"Kurapika." He heard himself muttering. The girl stiffened as he called her by her given name. "I've done you great harm." He said in a small and, surprisingly, gentle voice.

Kurapika looked up and stared at him with disbelieving eyes. In a split second, he thought he saw surprise in those eyes; but he was gravely mistaken. Her eyes turned deep crimson in a fraction of second, hatred overflowing from those beautiful pair of the brightest rubies he had ever seen in his life. In a blink of eye, she stood up and kicked him on the face hard. Kuroro stumbled and fell on his back. His head was dizzy and his eyes unfocused, but Kurapika grabbed him by his front collar and punched him with her fist. He could tell that she had mustered all strength she had on that one punch, and it hurt like hell.

"Great harm? DON'T MOCK ME!" She yelled. "What you have done is not even close to harm! You RUINED my world! You killed all my family and gouged out their eyes for the sake admiring them in a fleeing moment and then sold them away as if they are nothing but useless goods!"

She shook him violently, but Kuroro said nothing. He looked at those flaming eyes, receiving all hatred and despise she had towards him. He did not deny anything.

"If you are tying to apologize, don't bother! I will never ever forgive you, not in my lifetime! I'll be damned if I ever forgive you! My soul will never rest in peace before I have avenged my whole tribe!" She continued yelling and shouting at him.

For every words she screamed, the iris of her eyes were tinted with even deeper red as if they were bleeding and burning at the same time. Kurapika stopped yelling at one point and only the panting sound of her breath could be heard. Kuroro still had not uttered any single syllable, although his lips were bleeding and his face bruised from her abuse. Kurapika gritted her teeth in deep irritation and vexation as she saw her enemy in such an unresponsive manner. So angry and violated she was, that she could not hold back her tears anymore.

"Damn you, you bastard…" She sobbed. "You words have no meanings now…It will never…The dead will never come back…My family will still be dead…Damn it…"

Her fists that were holding Kuroro's shirt were now trembling. She ducked her head to avoid his gaze as she continued shedding her tears. Kuroro stayed muted and merely observed her closely. Her small shoulders were trembling visibly, and her voice had become very weak.

"You have no idea on how I felt back then…" She mumbled in her sobs, her fists still clutching Kuroro's shirt.

The heavy voice of the downpour filled the cave, muffling her sobs. Kuroro imagined if he was the one in her shoes. How if the whole Ryuusei-gai was wiped out, and he was the only survivor? How if all members of the Genei Ryodan were slaughtered, and he was the only one left? What would he feel? What if he knew who the killers were, and knew that they were out there in the world, still free and unpunished? Would he seek them for revenge?

Yes.

Just as how he did for Uvogin back then in Yorkshin.

Kuroro straightened up into a sitting position and peeled Kurapika's hands off his shirt. They were still tremulous in his hold. He had no idea on what had possessed him at that moment, but he pulled the girl closer and tucked her head to his chest, letting her cry on his chest. Kurapika had been too disoriented and overwhelmed by her emotions, that she did not even bother to retaliate. She continued crying, ignoring the fact that it was her enemy that was holding her.

"Aniki…" Kuroro heard her mumbling it a few times in her sobs. He felt her leaning against him and continue with her mourns. She might have mistaken him as her brother again, but it was fine. He would tolerate it again.

The older man stared into the darkness of the cave. He himself had no idea why he was doing what he was doing at the moment. One thing he knew; he could somehow relate to the girl's feeling of loss when she grieved for her tribe's massacre. _He_ had cried when he read of Uvogin's death in the prediction by Neon Nostrad. _He_ had specially held the requiem for Uvogin's death in a manner that would suit his taste. That was _his_ revenge for Uvogin's death. He might be a cold, calculating Danchou of the Genei Ryodan, but he was a human capable of feelings.

The girl wanted to have her revenge for the death of her people. He knew better than anyone else that it was her right, no matter how selfish it seemed to be. He was selfish as well. The difference was, he did not hate her, but she hated him with all her soul. That hatred was so great that it could not be quelled; and ironically that strong negative emotion was the one that bound them to each other, not only physically but their lives as well.

* * *

They remained in that position for several moments, until Kurapika had finally calmed down. She straightened up and avoided his stare. She inched away from him and settled back at her previous spot, hugging her knees again. Kurapika looked away and said not a single word. Kuroro observed her every movement, but said and did nothing.

He leaned against the cold rock of the cave wall, sat with one knee propped up and turned his head to look at the curtain of rain outside the cave. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly an old memory came to his mind. It was a memory that he wished he had forgotten long time ago, but he simply could not. It always resurfaced when he was about to forget it, the presence of the memory kept lingering in his mind.

"It had been raining as well…" He found himself muttering. "…when Ishtar first found me." Kurapika stirred, but still did not look at him.

"I was only three years old... She found me among my parents' dead bodies. They had killed each other; my father tried to kill me, my mother tried to protect me." He paused for a while, before continuing with the same even voice. "Basille found me first, she was attracted by the smell of blood. Ishtar came shortly after, and that was how she adopted me."

Kurapika stared into the darkness, Kuroro's words were sinking into her mind. "You said children who were raised by their parents had little chance of surviving into adulthood."

"She trained me as well; both physical and Nen. I know she is not a human since the day she started training me. Her strength and abilities are far beyond any humans. You won't understand it before you face her yourself."

Kurapika listened to him intently. Kuroro did not elaborate on how she trained him, but she imagined that Ishtar had trained him hard and with great discipline, despite her kind and gentle look. Somehow, it was not hard to imagine her as a warrior.

"Why do you hate her?" She asked.

Kuroro turned his head and found Kurapika staring at him with her oceanic blue eyes. There was curiosity in her eyes, and a slight tinge of anger. He did not know what had made her angry, but her question was too personal. He was not going to answer her question, not yet. Kuroro instead just gave her a mystifying smile, and said nothing further. He looked away and closed his eyes, ending his short tale. Kurapika frowned at his attitude, but did not press him further. She knew, somehow, that if he wanted to talk, he would talk. She could only wait, then.

* * *

Shalnark looked out of the window of the blimp. He rested his chin on his palm and sighed. His danchou had suddenly called a day before, telling him to get a certain medicine for him and to bring it to him fast. He had noticed the strangeness and stiffness in Kuroro's voice, and he had spoken to him very briefly; which made him to conclude that the disease was starting to consume the man. Soon enough, Kuroro would not be able to talk at all. He had to get to his place as fast as possible. But there was one problem.

"Yo, Shal! What are you looking at?" Phinks slapped his shoulder hard.

Shalnark only turned and glared mildly at him, or more precisely pouted at him, while rubbing his sore shoulder where the man had slapped him before. Kuroro had told him to come alone, since he did not want them to attract attention. However, those block-heads had insisted on coming along since they wanted to see their Danchou.

"Hey, why are you sulking? It's not like Danchou prohibited us from coming. He only said: 'if possible', correct?" Phinks said in his defence.

"And it is possible that you all don't come with me." Shalnark said, still pouting.

"Hey, come one. Besides, it's not all of us who are coming; only me, you, Nobunaga, Machi, and Feitan."

_Yeah, all the troublemakers…_Shalnark fought his urge to claw at his cheeks in exasperation.

"We want to check Danchou, what's so wrong with that?" Nobunaga joined them. Actually, he was the one who insisted the most to come. "We never know what that chain-guy can do when Danchou is sick and all." He wrinkled his nose as if in disgust.

Shalnark sighed and said nothing more. If anything, he could only tell that the chain-guy had done nothing to Danchou. However, it did puzzle him how Kuroro Lucifer could be brought down by such a disease. The chance of someone contracting tetanus was quite small, except if the bacteria were modified. Even if it was the case, it was a minuscule of chance of hurting Kuroro with any poison-treated weapon. Their Danchou was a very careful person, and would not risk getting cut just for the sake of any show-off of his strength or endurance. Shalnark had suspected that Kuroro might have gotten hurt while trying to protect the chain-guy, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Their Danchou was not the type who protected anyone, much less an enemy. Besides, the chain-guy was not someone who needed any protection anyway.

A few hours later, they finally arrived in the airport. Once they were off the blimp, Shalnark opened his cell-phone and dialled Kuroro's number. It took quite a while before the call was picked up, and it was unusual. Kuroro was usually quick to pick their calls. What was more, when the call was answered, there were no greetings whatsoever. Usually Kuroro would address them by their names, but this time nothing came.

"Danchou?" Shalnark asked unsurely.

[…He can't speak right now.] A feminine voice answered instead of Kuroro's usual bass voice. Shalnark went rigid for a fraction of second, but before he could say anything, the voice continued. [We are in a cave, somewhere in the forest east of the port. I believe you are in Lucca Port?]

"Yes. I'll be going there right away." He said, trying to sound as normal as possible.

[Wait.] The voice called at him again before Shalnark could hang up. The voice hesitated for a second. [Before you go, bring plenty of water and some food. If possible, the ones that are easily digested.]

Shalnark was quite surprised by her request, but nonetheless nodded. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind."

[Good.]

"Hold on!" But he was too late, the line was already cut off. He sighed and pocketed his cell-phone.

"What did Danchou say?" Machi asked as she stood closer to him. The men, notably Nobunaga, Phinks, and Feitan were debating and placing bets on which direction they would be going.

"…Machi, do you have any intuitions so far?" Shalnark asked innocently. Machi narrowed her eyes.

"Tell me what's going on first."

"Well…someone answered the call, but it wasn't Danchou."

"The chain-guy?"

Shalnark gave her a small smile, and Machi raised an eyebrow. "The chain-assassin is a girl?"

"I don't know yet, but the once who answered is definitely a girl. And since Danchou is not the type who will travel with a girl, we can safely assume that the chain-assassin is a girl. Since they are stuck together anyway…"

"So what now?"

"I guess first we will need to buy some food and water for Danchou." Shalnark shrugged. "Or she'll kill me…" He mumbled to himself and shuddered at the thought of Kurapika torturing him with her Chain Jail.

Machi raised a perfect eyebrow, but before she could ask anything, Shalnark was attacked by Phinks and Nobunaga. They pestered him on which direction they were going to go, and they started bickering like little boys. Mach sighed, and walked ahead alone, ignoring the boys. If Shalnark asked her again of any intuition, she had one now.

And it was not a bad one. Not at all.

* * *

Kurapika placed the phone on the cold ground and sighed. It took her a lot of effort to talk to a member of Genei Ryodan in a civilised manner. Lucky the one who called was the most-normal looking one. She leaned against the rough wall of the cave and looked down at the sleeping man who was resting his head on her lap. She recalled the event yesterday, when Kuroro suddenly got a seizure.

xXx

When Kurapika woke up the other day, the rain had finally stopped. She looked at her companion, who was still sleeping with his head hung low and sitting cross-legged with his arms crossed in front of his chest. She peered at his face, and she noticed the unusual paleness in his ivory skin. Not bothering to wake him up, Kurapika had drifted off into light sleep again, but was awakened short after by movements near her. When she opened her eyes, she saw Kuroro on the floor, his back curved backwards and his whole body formed a stiff arc. The cave was dark, and Kurapika could not see his face from her spot. She noticed his arms twitching in a jerky, involuntary movement. Kurapika knew that the disease had almost reached its peak. Soon enough, he collapsed to the floor and lay motionless.

Too surprised to recall the fact that Kuroro Lucifer was her sworn enemy, her instinct kicked in and she rushed to his side. She checked his pulse out of habit, which was actually unnecessary. She was still alive, which meant he was still alive. When she touched his skin, however, she noticed that his body was slightly warm. He was catching a fever now. His eyebrows were furrowed in what might be deduced as pain as well.

"Kuroro." She called him, trying to wake him. The name tasted weird in her mouth, but she ignored it. The man stirred slightly, and fluttered his eyes open with efforts. He groaned softly and rolled to his side. He used his elbow to support his body and he used his other hand to rub his throbbing temple. Kurapika observed him closely, to see any other damages or any incoming symptoms.

"You got a seizure." She deliberately informed him.

"I know." He looked up and his gaze met Kurapika's gaze. He then mumbled something that might be some curses and tried to sit up. Kurapika did nothing to help him, but instead she clenched her hands on her laps. She eyed Kuroro's every movement. Kuroro took out his cell-phone and dialled a number. When Shalnark had finally answered the call, he briefly told him to get a medicine for tetanus and brought it to him fast.

Without telling Shalnark of his position, Kuroro hang up and let his arm fell to his side. He sighed softly and leaned against the cold wall of the cave. Kurapika still stared at him, as if anticipating his next move.

"You have a fever as well." She finally spoke again, her voice small. Kuroro looked at her but said nothing.

Kurapika knew what he was thinking. There was nothing they could do to quell the fever. They had no clean, cold water to give him a cold compress. They had no medicine for fever. All they could do was to wait for Shalnark and his medicine. Still, it made her uneasy. There was a sick person, and to sit there and did nothing was almost unbearable for her. But this was Kuroro Lucifer!

Suddenly, she felt him shifting beside her. Before she could do anything, however, he had fallen over and his head just happened to land on her lap, of all places. She went rigid for a moment, and had almost punched the light out of the man when she realised that he was already out. It seemed that his body was starting to give in to the disease. Seeing that there was nothing else she could do, she just let him have a bit of comfort this time round.

xXx

That was how they ended up in such position. Kurapika could feel the heat emitting from his feverish body even after hours had passed. If anything, she had the feelings that his fever was getting worse. She absentmindedly checked his temperature with her cool hand, and felt the heat burning her hand. Kurapika frowned uneasily. The man was sleeping as if he was not disturbed by the fever, but his face looked lifeless and pale, as if he was already dead, although she knew better than anyone else that he was alive. Kurapika brushed a few strands of black hair from his pale face and her gaze fell on the cross mark on his forehead. Her thought drifted back to the conversation they had a few hours ago.

xXx

Kurapika looked at his bandage and felt compelled to take it off. It would make the fever worse. She tried to do it as gently as possible, but her touch woke him up. He looked at her wearily, but without the suspicions. Without explaining anything, she peeled the bandage off his head and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He stiffened slightly at her gesture, but it only made her smile amusedly. She had no idea what she was smiling for, but she guessed it was just amusing to see _him_ flinching upon her touch, whereas usually it was her who flinched from his touch.

Now that she looked his face closer, she realised that he looked way younger than his usual age, especially with his hair down. She remembered Neon rambling about a particular 26-years-old gentleman who had helped her sneaked into the Cemetery Building in order to attend the auction, and Kurapika knew that she was talking about Kuroro. She noticed Kuroro's hair getting damp from the sweat and her hand acted on its own. She stroked the raven hair and combed it; only seconds later she realised of the foolish actions she was doing. Her eyes widened in disbelief of herself and berated herself for doing such thing. Why was she doing it in the first place?

A cold hand grabbed her wrist. Kurapika noticed Kuroro's gaze at her, something was in his eyes but she could not read it. He opened her palm and wrote something with his finger on her palm. He could not speak anymore, not with the lockjaw. Kurapika frowned and tried to understand what he was writing.

"What…are…you…doing? What am I doing, are you asking me that?" She asked him, and he let go of her hand. Kurapika's brows furrowed slightly and she stared into the blank darkness of the cave. Why? The body remembered, but her mind did not remember. Why had she done it?

"Aniki…" She finally muttered, paused and gulped. Kuroro still had his gaze locked to Kurapika's face. "…used to do that whenever I was down with fever."

Kuroro held his dark gaze steady to her face, reading her thoughts from her facial expression. Her blue eyes shone with bitter nostalgia. Kurapika cocked her head sideways slightly, as if trying to remember something. "…He said it'll make me feel better."

xXx

And the conversation ended in such fashion. Truth be told, Kuroro did feel better when he had her cooling hand on his burning forehead. Furthermore, it was somewhat…reassuring? In his half-awake-half-asleep feverish state, Kuroro remembered—his body remembered—the gentle stroke of someone else; of another female, her hands larger than this one, and more mature. His body remembered sleeping on someone else's lap, his body remembered of his hair being stroked gently, his body remembered of someone else's gentle voice reassuring him that he would be alright the next day. Now Kuroro could not discern between memories and reality. Was the girl really talking to her, or was he only listening to the voice of someone from his childhood? In any case, it did not really matter for him. He was content enough in his position, and despite his sickness, he felt comfortable in his sleep.

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: I know they are both a bit out of characters here, but I can't help it! I just want to spill their past bits by bits, especially Kuroro's. Honestly, this chapter was inspired by a particular scene in Blade of the Immortal manga (truth to be told, I felt like I had committed plagiarism.) Although Kuroro always appears strong all the time, there have to be moments when he can be weak, right? It's just that he never shows it to anyone else. And Kurapika just happens to be lucky (or unlucky?) to see it. And since it has been emphasised in the manga that Kurapika is someone with high moral conscience, I just thought that she may not stand the sight of someone dying in front of him and did nothing about it. Well, I might be wrong since we're talking about Kuroro Lucifer here. I know, I know. Forgive me if this is counted as a mistake on my part -_- Also, I added a bit of Kuroro getting softer on her (if hugging her as she cried can be counted as one?) In any case, I did try, so don's slaughter me for a lousy job done._

_**Next**__: Shalnark arrived with the promised medicine, and it worked wonder. Just as Kuroro barely recovered, they had a small, little talk. And Kurapika was in for a surprise from Kuroro._


	9. Chapter 9: Humanity

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter._

_**Story so far**__: Kuroro and Kurapika were stuck in a cave, in the middle of heavy rain, with Kuroro down with tetanus. Things could not get worse than this, Kurapika thought. She managed to catch a tiny bit glimpse of his inner self, but she could not discern whether it was for the better or worse for her._

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**_HUMANITY_**

* * *

Kurapika felt like committing suicide right then, right there. A few moments after Kuroro had fallen asleep, peacefully and comfortably, on her laps, only then she realised her folly. Why had she fraternised her arch-enemy so very much, for goodness sake? Offering even her lap for his pillow? He might be sick to the point of rendered unable to speak, but still! This was Kuroro Lucifer she was cradling on her lap; the murderer of her people, the person she had vowed to track down to the end of the earth if needed so, her sworn enemy. How did everything end up this way?

Suddenly, it just came to her that this was the perfect opportunity for her to finish the head of the Spiders. She summoned her chains, the rattling sound chimed softly in the darkness of the cave. Kuroro remained sleeping undisturbed, his fever pinning down his consciousness. Her Chain Jail danced its deadly dance, and she aimed it at his heart; ready to strike. Just before she managed to give any command to the chain especially designed for the fall of the Spiders, she felt a tug in her heart.

_Your life is bound to his. If he dies, you will die as well._

Kurapika frowned. The voice had been in her head, it was not her thoughts. After all, she had been willing to die if she would drag him along with her to the pits of hell, if it really existed. Someone was trying to convince her not to kill him.

_You are the last Kuruta alive. If you die, that's the end of your tribe. For real._

This time, Kuroro's voice echoed in her head. He had told her so on night in the desert during their journey to Ryuusei-gai. Kurapika froze, her heart missed a beat. She had sworn to avenge her fallen comrades, even if it would cost her life as well. A new doubt rose; had she been right to make such vow? Would her people be more disappointed by her for not preserving their bloodlines, for not staying alive and repopulating the tribe?

_So you really have no qualm if your tribe really becomes extinct?_

Again, Kuroro's voice. It reverberated in her head, convincing her. His words sounded so logical, so true. It made her feel like a fool, like she was the wrong one. She then realised, that she might have to revise her vow. She would have her revenge on the Spiders, yes, but not with the cost of her life. She would survive. And in order to survive, she needed a stronger conviction, needed another power, but would not let go of her current power. She would not change the conditions of her chain, but she would add another one. After all, she still had one more chain without appointment.

Kurapika raised her hand, surveying her five fingers and the chains wrapped around them. The thumb chain was responsible for healing, the middle finger was responsible for binding the Spiders, the ring finger was responsible for dowsing and mainly defence, the little finger was responsible for Judgment and restrictions on others. Only her index finger was left. Right then, she was going to appoint a job for the index finger chain.

Her eyes turned scarlet, the redness burning in the darkness of the cave. A new chain emerged from the metal hugging her index finger; it had an end much alike the Chain Jail, and it served for counterattack. Kurapika smiled at the irony—at her irony—that she swore to be strong, yet she assigned her new power for counterattack only. Her conscience still did not allow her to kill, to attack someone first unless they meant harm towards her first.

_So you will wait until he kills one of you friends, only then you will kill him?_

Kurapika gulped. Kuroro's words spoke the truth. She scowled at herself; why did Kuroro have to be correct most of the time? He was 9 years older than her, but still…it irritated her to know that he was always correct and she was wrong. Was she wrong? No. This time, she was not wrong, she believed so. She would not kill senselessly like some people did. She killed for a justifiable reason, and it was only if it was really necessary. She was not careless and reckless, but she was not cold-blooded as well. She would fight for survival, but she would not kill. That was her belief, and it was the only thing that would keep her right on her track as she travelled with Kuroro Lucifer, the infamous cold-blooded murderer.

Again, she sniffed at the cruel irony. Yes, the cold-blooded murderer; the one who was now down with fever and was sleeping with his head on her lap.

* * *

"Over there!" Nobunaga pointed to a certain point. "I feel a surge of Nen over there."

"I feel it too." Phinks nodded, and in silent agreement, the group changed direction towards the direction where there was a surge of Nen. "It's the chain-guy's Nen."

Machi and Shalnark exchanged a knowing glance towards each other, but said nothing.

"Damn, if he did as little as scratching Danchou, I'll decapitate him!" Nobunaga growled menacingly, his hand clutching the hilt of his sword.

"You'll kill Danchou, Nobu." Machi narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Oh…Right…Well, maybe cut off his arm?"

"I can see the cave." Shalnark announced. Soon enough, they reached the cave but Shalnark stopped them from barging in. "Remember, Danchou told me to come alone, but you all have insisted to come along. I'll enter first, tell Danchou about you guys and see if he'll let you in."

"Oh, come on, Shal. It's us here, not some hunters who are after him. Of course he'll let us in." Phinks snorted.

"I'm going alone." Shalnark insisted, his hands on his hips.

"He will go alone. End of discussion." Machi announced while shooting warning glares at Nobunaga and Phinks and Feitan.

Before they could protest further, Shalnark slipped from the group and he entered the cave, leaving the rest for the ever-reliable Machi to handle. He stayed at the mouth of the cave, trying to adjust his eyes to the thick darkness of the cave. He narrowed his eyes, and saw a figure at the far end of the darkness.

"Danchou?" He asked unsurely.

"…He's here." A feminine voice spoke instead of Kuroro's bass voice.

Shalnark raised an eyebrow but approached the figure nonetheless. When he was only a few steps away from them, he nearly choked with surprise. He blinked several times, and even rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. He gulped and tried to digest the truth that lay before him. There, on the floor of the cave, his Danchou was sleeping with his head on the chain-_girl_'s lap, much alike some couples he would see when he was strolling in some parks.

"You have the medicine?" The blonde girl asked him with trained, monotone voice.

"I do." Shalnark hurriedly rummaged through his pocket and fished out the medicine.

"Good. Hold it for a while." With that, Kurapika shifted her attention to the man sleeping on her lap. "Wake up. Your medicine is here."

Shalnark could have had his jaws dropped until it touched the ground, but thanked God his body remembered to preserve some dignity not to be the object of the girl's mockery for his lack of grace later. He swore he heard the girl's voice as gentle and soft; not hateful and derisive as he had heard it before; when she was still a boy, that is. Kuroro stirred slightly, and his eyelids fluttered open to reveal tired looking dark eyes. He looked at Kurapika, and then with some effort turned to look at Shalnark who was standing awkwardly near them.

"Come on, get up." Kurapika urged him to move. She supported his head and shoulder as best as she could and heaved him up so that his head would be supported by her propped up knee. After making sure that he was stable in such position, she turned to Shalnark once again.

"You bring water as well?" She reached out to take the medicine from him.

"Yes." Shalnark took out a bottle of fresh water and handed it to Kurapika. He watched in silence as the chain-assassin fed his Danchou his medicine.

Kurapika made Kuroro open his mouth a tiny fraction, large enough to let the pill slip into his mouth. The trouble came with the water. Kurapika opened the water bottle and pressed the rim to Kuroro's lips, but his jaw was too stiff to move then; not to mention the difficulty of swallowing caused by the muscle contraction. Nevertheless, Kurapika still tried her best. Water was spilled to his front shirt, but at the end of the day, after some tries, she managed to get him to swallow the pill.

"The pill should be working after a few hours. It works for the fever as well." Shalnark explained, still feeling awkward.

"I see." Kurapika merely responded. She settled Kuroro back to her lap and she poured some water to her palm and washed them over his sweating forehead. Kuroro on the other hand had seemed to drift back to sleep. Shalnark swore that he could not detect any single drop of hostility between the two; well, in the first place Danchou had no hostility towards her, it was one sided.

"Uh…May I ask something? You are the chain-assassin, right? The Kuruta?"

"I am." She replied coldly.

"So…Uh…You are really a girl?"

"You are not blind, are you?" Kurapika smirked mockingly at him.

"Oh. Erh…Sorry." He scratched the back of his head out of embarrassment.

"Don't be. Anyway, tell your friends not to come in here. I don't want to be in the same room as those people for too many hours." She said as she gestured to the entrance of the cave with a tilt of her head. "I will tell you when he is awake."

"Okay." Shalnark nodded and turned around to walk away. He stopped as he remembered something, and walked back. He put down a plastic bag in front of Kurapika and grinned at her. "Your order." With that, he went out of the cave to update his friends of the situation.

* * *

"So how did it go?" Machi asked coolly.

"Okay. Danchou is alive; she is taking care of him just fine." Shalnark answered easily. His eyes caught something wriggling furiously and heard some foul words being hurled around behind the girl. "Erh, Machi? What did you do to them?"

"Oh? A preventive measure so they won't barge in and jeopardise Danchou's life." She shrugged. Behind her, Nobunaga and Phinks were tied to the tress with her Nen strings, while Feitan was there to sneer and tease them. "So, it's really a she, then?"

"Yeah. Tough luck for Danchou." Shalnark sighed and shook his head, as if doing it on behalf of Kuroro. "Anyway, she told me that she doesn't want our presence in the cave, but she will tell me when Danchou's awake."

Machi raised an eyebrow. "You make it sounds like she is his personal caretaker or something."

"Well, she is, and a very good one, no less."

* * *

Kuroro woke up with a slight headache and stiffness all over his body. He groaned and pried open his eyes; and was greeted by the thick darkness of the cave. He blinked several times, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness, and when he finally did so, the first thing he saw was the Kuruta girl's face.

She was sleeping soundlessly, her head nodding slightly as she slept in a sitting position. Her golden hair framed her pale face perfectly, and they formed a silken curtain around her flawless face. He took his time to observe her face closely. Her hair had grown quite a bit since the first time they confronted the genie Hassammunin. Kuroro tried to flex his hands, and was pleased that he could move his fingers already. The medicine that Shalnark had brought worked wonders. He tried to lift up his arm, and it obeyed his command. He clenched and unclenched his hand, trying to rid the stiffness. Kuroro glanced at the still sleeping Kuruta. Suddenly, he felt tempted to touch her face.

As stealthily as possible, he reached out and touched her hair first, feeling the silky texture with his fingers. He let each golden strand to escape his finger like fine silk thread. The girl was still undisturbed in her sleep. He moved his fingers and touched her cheek gingerly, and she did not stir. He traced her jaw line, feeling the smooth texture of her facial skin. It felt like a baby's skin, and he found himself smiling; for a reason he could not find. When his finger reached her chin, he reluctantly let go of his touch, and at the same time, Kurapika's eyes snapped open.

"You're awake." She stated the obvious and straightened up.

"Obviously so." He answered with his raspy voice due to lack of proper use for some long hours.

Kurapika raised an eyebrow. "Looks like the medicine has taken effect."

"Indeed."

"So…" Kurapika narrowed her eyes, a slight irritation in her eyes. "Why are you still lying on my lap if you are all better?"

"Because it's nice." Suddenly, he felt his humour freshened and he wanted to tease the girl.

"Get. Off." She articulated each word with emphasis. To her further vexation, he did not budge.

"You were nice one moment, and mean the next moment." He commented, still resting his head on her lap. He was rewarded by her glare.

"You were sick."

"I am still."

"You are already able to talk."

"Doesn't mean I am fully recovered."

"You don't have to lie on my lap until you are fully recovered, you jerk."

"True. But I just want to."

"You get off on your own, or I'll just get up and let your head hit the ground." She threatened and was actually readying herself to get up.

"Fine, fine." Kuroro finally complied and hoisted himself into a sitting position next to her. When he had settled down, Kurapika offered the plastic bag to him.

"Your dinner. Your spider bought it for you."

"Oh." He took it from her hands and inspected the content. His eyebrows quirked and he glanced at Kurapika, who was busy looking elsewhere and ignoring him. She obviously had not bothered to peek into the plastic bag. He suppressed a sigh and took out one packet of food and dropped it to her lap. Kurapika jolted and turned her head in a snap to face him.

"Your portion."

"But I—"

"Shalnark bought extra for you." Kuroro explained but as he saw the look on Kurapika's face, he added. "And you better eat it, otherwise I won't eat as well."

Kurapika was ready to protest, but she decided against it because she knew that she would lose in the debate again. It would be wiser to save a face by not arguing with the older man about food issue, ever again, since she had already lost the debates for many times. In silence, both ate their food. Kuroro knew that Kurapika had been the one who asked Shalnark to buy some 'easily-digested' food for him, as he overheard the conversation when he was only half-asleep, when Kurapika answered the call on his behalf. He had been quite surprised that Kurapika would actually pick up the call and talked in a very much civilised manner with his spider member. He never knew that Kurapika would be that considerate.

"They are outside, waiting for you to wake up." Kurapika told him with flat voice after she had finished her food. She took Kuroro's empty packet and shoved it into the plastic-bag-turned-rubbish-bin, together with hers.

Kuroro gave Shalnark a call and ordered him to come in alone. When the young man emerged at the mouth of the cave, they could hear Nobunaga's roar of indignation for being left behind. Shalnark hurriedly approached them and sat down in front of Kuroro.

"Danchou! How are you feeling now?" Happiness was unhidden in his childish voice. Shalnark casted a quick glance to Kurapika, but the Kuruta girl was ignoring him. In fact, she was trying not to be involved in their conversation.

"I'm much better now. So who have come along?" Kuroro put on his Danchou persona.

"Well, there are Machi, Nobunaga, Phinks, and Feitan."

"I see. Now I want you all to go back and disperse until I give further instruction. As for you, Shal, I need you to do something."

"Anything, Danchou."

"I want you to find where the Scarlet Eyes are, and make a list of it." He said deadpan. Kurapika flinched slightly.

"All of them?"

"All of them." Kuroro nodded. "That is all."

"Okay, understood. And…uh…" He glanced at Kurapika, who was still ignoring them. Kuroro caught his hint and turned to Kurapika.

"Do you want him to tell them, Kurapika?" He asked lightly, as if asking a friend. Shalnark raised an eyebrow at his casual use of Kurapika's given name.

"I don't care." Came her cold reply.

"Then I leave it to your decision." Kuroro turned to his subject.

"Uh, okay. See you around then, Danchou. I'll give you a call when I'm done with the list." With that, the brown-haired young man retreated and made his way to the cave entrance. He gave them a fleeting glance, before disappearing into the woods. A thick silence engulfed the small cave, before Kurapika finally broke it.

"What's with the Scarlet Eyes list?" There was suspicion in her voice.

"Hm? I promised that I will help you collect all your people's eyes, didn't I? I keep my words, Kurapika."

"I'm surprised." She said sarcastically.

Kuroro looked at her and gave her a quizzical look. He smiled at her little antics but said nothing. Feeling irritated by his lack of response, Kurapika continued her verbal assaults.

"So much for the mighty leader of the Spiders. Catch a bug, and he's down like the rest of us."

"What do you take me as, some monster? I'm still a human, Kurapika. I'm a human first, a Spider second." He responded lightly, and even chuckled at her naivety; which made her mood even worse.

"I don't think someone who can kill without feeling anything is a human." She hissed at him, her eyes already glowing red subtly.

"Then it should apply to your Zaoldyck friend. Surely you have seen him killing before. Tell me, did he hesitate before killing his opponent?"

Kurapika was taken aback by his retaliation, but stood her ground. "He's different from you lot."

"How so? Because he wasn't involved in the massacre of your tribe? That's very subjective. You should judge everything objectively, Kurapika." Kuroro turned to give her a smug smile.

"At least," Kurapika growled at him, her scarlet eyes glowed more intensely. "He does not kill when unnecessary."

"So killing for the sake of business is okay?" He countered.

"He quitted being an assassin long time ago. Besides, he's different from before now." She retorted.

"Am I not different from before?" He gave her another small smile; which she later chose to interpret as mocking.

Kurapika was taken off guard by this. She opened her mouth to counter, but no words came out. Flabbergasted, she glared at him and looked away. His words bothered her, and for the rest of the day, as they walked out of the forest, she kept mulling over it. She could not help it. She would be foolish and extremely ignorant if she insisted that Kuroro Lucifer had not changed. He definitely had changed, for better or worse she could not say yet, but he certainly became kinder and less cold towards her. Kuroro Lucifer had become somewhat more human.

_I am a human first, a Spider second. _

She narrowed her eyes; his words kept echoing in his mind. Was he trying to tell her that he could still feel as a human would; that he still had some humanity left. Kurapika snorted softly; if he still had any humanity left, he would have apologized to her and somehow made up for it.

_I promised that I will help you collect all your people's eyes, didn't I? I keep my words, Kurapika._

Kurapika snapped her head in attention and stared at the older man's back; who was walking ahead of her, a realization suddenly dawned to her. His promise to help her collect back her comrades' eyes; was it his way of making up for his wrongdoing against her? She did not want to believe it, she tried to deny it, telling herself that he was just trying to buy her trust for the sake of expanding the bind; in other words, for his convenience.

She shook her head vigorously, trying to dismiss the impossible thoughts from her head. It would cloud her judgement later, but most importantly, she was afraid that it would make her stop hating that man.

"What's wrong?" Kuroro asked as he noticed her strange behaviour. He had stopped walking and waited so that he would walk side by side with her.

"Nothing. Mind your own business." She rudely replied, but she ducked her head and avoided his searching gaze.

Kuroro raised an eyebrow, amused and bewildered by her sudden bad mood, yet said nothing and continued walking at her pace, as she begrudgingly realized.

_I keep my words, Kurapika._

Kurapika pressed her eyes close, inwardly she vehemently hoped that if the man still really had some humanity left, he would really keep his promise. She tried to deny the fact that the man was humane enough, but at the same time she was hoping that he really had some conscience left in him, so that she could at least fulfil one of her lifetime goal. _Talk about heretics_, she mused bitterly.

* * *

He was not really sure why he had gone as far as asking Shalnark to help him with the Scarlet Eyes. It was supposed to be a personal affair, and he should not have asked his comrades for assistance. He might just want to keep things easy and fast, but then…Was he trying to repay her for her kindness? It was so unlike him. And what an irony! He was the one who robbed the Eyes, and now he was collecting them back to return them to the rightful owner of those eyes. If Ishtar heard this, she would laugh her head off.

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: Well, for one, this chapter is not so long, so pardon me. The next one will be better and longer than this. Somehow, imagining Kuroro as humane is rather odd, no? Saying that he is a human first and a Spider second, that's just rather unexpected. But that's what is needed for this story, or so I feel. In any case, do review this chapter and tell me what you think of this. _

_**Next**__: As they continued their somewhat lacking-of-destination journey, disaster occurred. They were forced to flee back to Ryuusei-gai, with someone's life at stake. In the end, when things had calmed down, again Kurapika saw a tiny part of Kuroro's humanity. _


	10. Chapter 10: Blood

_**Diclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter_

_**Story so far**__: When both had 'recovered' from the incident in the cave, they set out to continue their journey. It seemed that the combination of Kuroro and Kurapika was really a bad luck as, once again, they encountered yet another unwanted disaster._

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**_BLOOD_**

* * *

They had been wandering aimlessly for weeks, trying to find some magical creatures but so far they had found none; nil, zero, nothing. It really grated to Kurapika's nerve, because she perceived it as a great waste of time. To make things worse, Kuroro Lucifer seemed to be enjoying the trip and he seemed unbothered by her constant complaints and grumbles; if anything, he seemed amused by her actions. Also, it bothered her that she noticed the change of his demeanour towards him. While previously he had kept everything to himself, rarely speaking to her, lately he had been talking to her unlike before. It did not really matter whether she replied him or not, he would just tell her random things; mostly trivial matters. He would tell her about the towns they visited; the dangerous plants and herbs they came across in their trip, the animals, anything. Most importantly, though, she realised that the bind had expanded considerably; almost more than 1 metre now. She did not know whether to feel happy; since she could stand further from the man, or to feel dejected; because it meant that they were warming up to each other.

"Hey." She started the conversation first, which was rare.

"Yes?" Kuroro asked without bothering to turn around and look at her. Not that it bothered her, though.

"How come we haven't met a single mythical creature?"

"They are called mythical for a reason, you know." He replied with stifled chuckle. "Besides, the stronger they are, the harder it is to find them."

"Tsk, what a pain." She complained again.

Kuroro only shrugged and kept walking at his pace. When he suddenly felt a tug to his body, he stopped and turned around with a raised eyebrow. Kurapika had stopped walking, and was staring at her hand. To be exact, at the ring on her finger.

"What's wrong?" He walked towards her.

"The stone…" She mumbled, her eyes still fixed on the ring. Kuroro peeked at her ring, and noticed the change as well. The sapphire had turned red.

As if to clarify it, they heard a roar from nearby. The two exchanged a quick glance, before unanimously dashed towards the source of the roar. Soon enough, they reached a clearing and they were faced by a creature with a lion body, with a goat head in the middle of its body, and a tail that terminated with a snake head. Kurapika's eyes bulged in surprise, never before had she seen something as hideous as the creature. Kuroro, on the other hand, looked more disturbed than surprised.

"It's highly unusual that a Chimera will wander into this kind of place." He muttered.

"So what do we do now?" Kurapika asked as she flinched when the chimera roared again, its fiery eyes blazing with hunger at them.

"Kill it." With a flick of his wrist, Kuroro threw his pins at the creature, but it dodged them easily. "Chimeras don't let their preys escape."

Without dilly-dallying, the Chimera jumped; its massive body sailed across the air with the grace of a cat, its razor-sharp claws directed towards them. Kuroro had bent his knees in preparation to make a jump, but Kurapika was not doing the same. She looked at the creature, and then glanced at her hand. It was a good chance to try out her new chain. She summoned her chain and with a flip of her hand, she sent the Counterattack Chain towards the creature. The chain wrapped itself around the Chimera and restricted it from any movements. It fell to the ground with a loud thud and the earth shook slightly from the impact.

The Chimera struggled to free himself, the chain rattled dangerously as if it was about to break. However, nothing happened. The Chimera remained tied, its snake tail swishing around in fury, while the lion head growled. In frustration, it opened its mouth and vomited a stream of fire towards them. Both dodged it well, and with a flick of Kurapika's hand, the chain bound the lion's jaw to prevent it from throwing anymore fire.

"What chain are you using?" Kuroro asked curiously.

"Counterattack Chain." Kurapika merely responded without providing any explanation. She believed that the name was explanatory enough and Kuroro was bright enough to understand the use of the chain. She did not, however, mentioned that the particular chain was not as strong as her Chain Jail, and that it did not render the captive into Zetsu state. Uvogin's Reinforcement strength might have broken the Counterattack Chain.

"Can it be used for all opponents?"

"Anything that attacks me." She replied again. "Aren't you going to kill it?"

Kuroro rolled his eyes; if she wanted to, she could have killed the creature. She simply delegated the 'dirty work' to him. Nonetheless, answering her question, Kuroro shot his pins at the creature lying helplessly on the earthen ground. He chose its eyes and forehead as targets. The Chimera roared in pain, its body writhing in agony beneath the unwavering restriction of Kurapika's chain. She frowned at the creature's display of pain, uneasy with the terrible scene. She glanced at Kuroro, and noticed his cold and uncaring demeanour towards the creature's plight. She scoffed inwardly, trying to despise him more.

The Chimera finally stopped crying out, and when the head finally turned limp and the chest heaved heavily as it breathed its last breath, it launched its final vengeful attack. Too preoccupied with her disturbed thoughts, Kurapika did not notice something coming after her. Kuroro saw something moving from the corner of his eyes, but he was too late in his reaction.

Kurapika gave a loud gasp of pain. Kuroro watched in horror as he saw the snake head of the Chimera's tail had sunk its lethal fangs into Kurapika's delicate neck. Her eyes turned wide and her mouth gaped, but no scream came out. Her knees turned into jelly, but before she collapsed to the ground face-first, Kuroro had taken her elbow and wrenched the snake's head from her neck roughly. With one swift jerk of arm, Kuroro separated the head of the snake from its body and tossed the carcass aside. He turned to Kurapika and saw blood overflowing from the jagged puncture wounds on her neck.

"Kurapika!" He grabbed her more firmly and called out at her.

The Kuruta girl seemed to have frozen in her place. Her eyes; which had turned fiery scarlet, were unfocused yet bulging out. She let out ragged gasps of pain from her mouth and her body began trembling violently, as if she had a mild stroke. She could no longer stand properly and Kuroro had to support her full weight in his arms. He could see the colour drained rapidly from her face, and soon her face had turned ghostly ashen.

"Kurapika!" Again, he called out at her and she responded by shifting her eyes towards him; crimson eyes that spoke of horror, fear, and pain only. Even in that split second, Kuroro was fascinated by those eyes; he instinctively felt that he must not lose those eyes, no matter what.

Cursing under his breath, Kuroro took out his switchblade; the one that was not treated with poison, and slashed at the bite mark on her neck carefully so as to avoid her artery vein. He had noticed that the bite mark had missed the vital vein by a mere cm; he assumed that the girl saw the attack at the very last minute and had shifted, or it was just her pure luck. In any case, he had to suck out the blood as a form of first aid.

He squatted on the ground and cradled Kurapika's vulnerable upper body in his arms; supporting her torso with one arm while the other arm was used to treat the wound. He squeezed the sides of the cut wound he made to let out the bad blood, and then he bent down to suck out the poison. He was sure that he had no cut in his mouth, thereby reducing the chance of him being poisoned to death while trying to save the girl's life. He sucked and spitted out the poisoned blood to the ground, repeating the action several time until he could not feel the acidic taste of the poison. Kuroro knew that he had not sucked out all of the poison, but this first aid was enough to let her survive for another one or two days; three days if she was strong enough.

Kurapika gasped in pain, her breathing uneven and jagged as if she was having breathing difficulty. Her eyeballs turned in frantic directions in the sockets, cold sweats started to drench her forehead and back. Her clothes was already half soaked in her blood, and the older man knew that he had to stop the bleeding first, otherwise she would die of blood-loss rather than poison. Kuroro ripped the hem of her thin over-shirt into makeshift bandage and wrapped it around her bloody neck. In no time, the bandage was entirely dyed crimson.

"Hold on." He whispered to her, although he knew that she could no longer hear, let alone understand, his words. Maybe he was just convincing himself.

Kuroro carried her bridal style and tucked her safely in the protection of his arms and torso. Without wasting another second, he took off with the fastest speed his legs could carry him. There was only one destination in his mind; the only place that could save Kurapika's life, and therefore his as well.

* * *

He was awakened in the most unusual fashion. Usually, it was the faint presence of Nen or aura of strangers, or the sound of the footsteps disturbing the sand from distance, or the smell of people carried by the desert wind, which awakened him from his easy task of guarding the gate of the city. This time, it was the faint, acrid smell of bad blood.

Straightening up his old yet muscular body, Jan narrowed his eyes towards the far horizon marking the beginning of the desert surrounding the 'garbage-dump' city. He waited for something to appear, and true enough, he saw an image approaching—at a very terrible speed. Jan stood up and braced himself in case it was danger approaching. He waited until the figure was distinct enough for him to discern, and to his surprise, he did recognise the thing that was approaching fast.

"Kuroro?" He called out in bewilderment. The young man was running towards the direction of the city, his raven hair down and messy, and he was carrying a huge bundle in his arms.

"Jan, open the gate." He said in a voice loud enough to be heard by the old gate-keeper across the distance he had yet to cover, but calm enough so as not to raise alarm.

"Okay." The old man nodded and with hurry opened the gate and held it open so that Kuroro could slip into the city without stopping. He did not even mutter a thank-you to the old man; which he was quite surprised about. Jan scratched the back of his head as he settled down in his usual spot; the boy had never been so in hurry before, not in his lifetime when he had watched him growing up.

Kuroro did not even bother to take the road anymore. He took shortcuts, jumping from crates to balconies, from roofs to roofs, until he reached his destination. He landed in front of the gate of the temple, the bundle in his arms motionless and undisturbed from his landing from a third-storey building. He dashed into the temple, only to find the entrance already opened for him. Ignoring his irritation; which was miniscule compared to the direness of the situation, he jumped into the entrance without a moment of hesitation.

* * *

She blew the smoke from her mouth lazily, her fingers toying with the hookah pipe, waiting for the arrival of her anticipated guests. Sure enough, the door was banged open, or rather, kicked open by a young man and he marched into the room straight towards her, the bundle still secure in his arms.

"I've been waiting. Come on, follow me."

Without waiting for any explanation whatsoever, Ishtar got up and glided across the room towards another door. She opened the door and left it open for Kuroro, who had his hands full. Wordlessly he followed her from behind, walking briskly along a dark tunnel, before finally they emerged into a lush forest. Kuroro narrowed his eyes as light assaulted him, while Ishtar seemed unaffected by the drastic change of the brightness of the surrounding. She made her way into the forest, and Kuroro followed close behind. They walked nonstop until they reached a small pond.

"Jump in. You know what to do." Ishtar stopped and stepped aside as she gestured towards the pond with a small tilt of her pretty head.

Kuroro looked at her for a while, before he began taking off the clothing that wrapped Kurapika's prone body. He peeled off the wet bandage wrapped around her wounded neck, before walking towards the pond. At the edge of the pond, he stopped and gave Ishtar a final glance.

"First thing first." She nodded in understanding at him.

He looked away and jumped into the lake without a moment of hesitation. From Ishtar's point of view, she could see the lake's water tinted black in no time. She frowned at the sight, and turned towards Basille, who had been observing the whole thing from the branch of a tree.

"Fetch _her_ for me, will you?"

The basilisk blinked at her several times, before she slithered off the branch and made her way towards the further depth of the forest.

* * *

The water of the lake was biting cold, yet refreshing. The water seemed to be alive, the current moving around them in a subtle dance. Black blood was drawn from Kurapika's wound on her neck as soon as they were underwater. Kuroro forced his eyes open and looked on as he observed the blood flowing out of her in a ridiculous amount. He waited patiently until all the poison was drawn from her.

_A bit more_, he heard the water speaking to him. The tingling sensation at his nape whenever he was in the lake was always new to him. He never got used to it. Kuroro looked around, expecting to see someone floating in the water, hoping that he could see the spirit of the lake for once only. He remembered years back, when he was poisoned the first time and was dumped into the lake by Ishtar. For treatment, she had said back then, without explaining to him beforehand. He had been frantic, him being barely 10 years-old, afraid that he would either drown or died of poisoning. The water then embraced him gently and sucked the poison out of his blood system, saving his life.

Kuroro turned back to observe the blood-letting process of Kurapika's treatment, and was surprised that the blood had turned into its normal red colour. Quickly, he swam to the surface, hugging her fragile figure close to his body. As soon as he reached the surface, he gasped for the blessed air. Kurapika's head leaned against his shoulder weakly, her eyes still closed tight and her breathing swallow, almost inaudible. He could still feel the faint rise and fall of her chest as he pressed her body to his, indicating that she was still, at least, breathing.

"Come on, get out of there." Ishtar motioned at him impatiently and began to pace towards the direction from where they had come before.

Obediently, Kuroro swam towards the edge and heaved Kurapika's body out of the water and laid her on the ground before he extracted himself out of the water. When he did so, he felt the push of the water helping him out of the lake. He glanced at the slightly disturbed surface of the lake, but he said nothing and instead he picked the unconscious girl from the ground and walked quickly towards the building.

Once inside, he was ushered towards another room. Inside, a wizened old woman was already waiting. Her hunched back and the wrinkles all over her body were the tell-tale that she was at an age close to 100 years-old, if not more. She looked up when he entered the room with Kurapika in his arms; both wet from head to toe. She snorted softy and tottered across the room and stood between the two beds prepared in the middle of the room.

"Put her down here, boy." She ordered him, her voice was as ancient as the voice of the wind. "Nevermind your drenched state. We'll take care of it later."

Eyeing her warily, Kuroro put Kurapika on one of the bed and he stepped back as far as the bind allowed, giving room for the old woman to inspect the girl. The old woman looked at Kurapika's sleeping form and frowned deeply. She sniffed the air about her, as if trying to recognise something; she then snorted and wringed her nose as if in disgust.

"Chimera poison. What have you been doing, boy? Never mind, I'll ask the Lady myself." She rambled to herself like a half-crazed old woman. "Now…What's her blood type?"

"I don't know." He answered honestly. How on Earth could he know of such thing, anyway?

"Tsk. Basille, come here and do your job!" The old woman called out with her raspy voice towards the dark corner of the room. Soon, Kuroro could hear the quiet, slithering voice as Basille made her way into the room.

The basilisk soon emerged and approached the bed where Kurapika was lying on. She hovered above the girl, her tongue stuck out to sniff the air. She leaned down, inching closer towards Kurapika, who was still blissfully unaware of the close proximity between her and the snake. Basille then tasted her blood with a slight touch of her forked tongue to the bloodstain on her clothing. Her beady red eyes blinked several times, before she turned to the old woman, and then to Kuroro.

_Her blood type is the same as hissss…_ She said in her characteristic hiss, her eyes fixed on Kuroro's surprised face.

"The same as him, eh? How convenient. What's your blood type again, boy?" The old woman turned to Kuroro.

"AB." He answered shortly.

"You lie down on the other bed. We'll transfuse your blood to her; she has lost too much blood." She said as she busied herself around the beds. Kuroro complied with her order and lay down on the bed next to Kurapika's. He looked at the old lady, wondering what she would do next. He had not seen any blood transfusion equipments, or any medical equipment in that matter.

"Now, you go to sleep."

With that, the old woman emitted her Nen and enveloped the two in her Nen. Kuroro suddenly felt drowsiness overtaking him and he did not fight against it. In no time, he was deep in slumber. The old woman clasped her hands and rubbed them together as if to put some warmth into her wrinkled hands. She unclasped them and placed each one on Kuroro's and Kurapika's hand.

"Jekyll and Hyde, come out." She muttered, and her Nen began taking shape into two small palm-sized men. One had white doctor coat, the other black.

Without waiting for any order from the old woman, the two Lilliput doctors began working on their own.

_Checking blood compatibility; ok. Transmittable disease in blood system; nil. Donor's blood pressure and blood count; stable and safe. _

They muttered and perform the procedures neatly, checking all kind of conditions needed for blood transfusion. Lastly, they produced a long tube out of raw Nen, and then poked each end into Kuroro's and Kurapika's heart; without actually making any physical wound. Blood streamed from Kuroro's body into the tube, which proceeded to enter Kurapika's body.

At the corner of the room, hiding in the darkness, Ishtar observed the process as she stroked Basille's head absentmindedly. Her face gave a strange expression, but she remained mute.

* * *

She brushed a strand of her golden hair from her pale face gently, like a mother caressing her sleeping daughter. She scrutinized her visage; heart-shaped, thin, and pale from sickness. She noticed that she had become thinner than the last time she visited, so she decided to interrogate the older one later, when he had come around. She cast a quick glance at her surrogate son, who was sleeping deeply next to the girl. His face was pale from fatigue and blood loss due to blood transfusion.

"Ah, here you are." A husky voice called out from behind a translucent maroon curtain, and a hunching figure drew the curtain and entered into the sleeping cubicle partitioned by curtains only.

"Hatsubaba, thank you for your help." The Lady nodded in respect and gratefulness at the elderly woman, but the doctor only waved her and impatiently.

"Don't mention it. In fact, I'm grateful that you called me, so I could see the boy again. My, he has grown so handsome." The woman laughed in a way an old witch would. "So who's the girl? His girlfriend?"

"Not really. Travelling companion, I should say?" Ishtar chuckled softly as he gazed at the two youths.

"Travelling companion? The boy never takes a personal travelling companion." The old woman snorted.

Ishtar smiled at her gesture with good-nature, and then explained briefly the predicament that Kuroro and Kurapika were in. At the end of her short story, Hatsubaba laughed merrily.

"The boy will learn a lot of life lessons from this experience. Ha, serve him right!"

"Probably, I hope so." Again, Ishtar stroke Kurapika's soft hair gently, but this time she stirred slightly.

Kurapika felt light-headed, as if there were some clouds in her minds, confusing her senses. She felt the presence of people around her, but she knew that they meant her no harm. She tried to open her eyes, and only succeeded after much effort. The first thing she saw was a pale face with a crown of jet-black, curly hair.

"Kurapika, you are awake." Ishtar spoke to her slowly, her tone happy.

"Nnh…" She groaned as her body felt sluggish and heavy. She looked around to see her surrounding, but she could not really recognise the place. There were a lot of translucent curtains hanging around her; the air felt slightly heavy with sandalwood incense, but she felt warm and secure for some reasons. Kurapika looked back again at the pale face that was speaking to her; this time she recognised her.

"Lady Ishtar?" She addressed her, her voice raspy and hoarse.

"Hush, child. Let me do the talking." She said as she put a finger on Kurapika's lips. Hatsubaba inched closer towards the girl, curious to listen to their conversation.

"You were fighting against chimera, correct? Then you were bitten by its tail, and lost your consciousness since then. I'll fill you in with what you have missed. First, after you were bitten, Kuroro performed a first aid on you. He sucked out the poison with his best, and then he rushed you here in less than three days."

Kurapika's eyes grew wide in disbelief and surprise. She turned her head to stare at the older man, who was still sleeping peacefully next to her. Another realization dawned to her; they were actually sleeping on the same bed. As Kurapika scanned her surroundings with a newfound horror, taking in the circumstances she was in, the old woman laughed in her witch-like laughter.

"The boy rushed you here without stopping for three days, imagine that!" She continued laughing, as if the entire matter was really hilarious. "I even have to drug him to sleep so he can make up for his lack of rest."

Kurapika looked at the wizened old woman with partial bewilderment and disbelief. Kuroro Lucifer rushed to save her life? That was the last thing she would believe on earth. She looked at Ishtar, hoping for some explanation or denial. She found the woman stifling her laughter as well.

"Hatsubaba is telling the truth. She is the one who performed blood transfusion for you. You've lost tremendous amount of blood, and luckily you have the same blood type as him, saving our time to look for suitable donor."

"She did what?" Kurapika squeaked, her eyes still wide in pure shock.

"Performed blood transfusion." Ishtar repeated her words. "Kuroro gave you his blood to save you from dying from blood-loss."

Instinctively, Kurapika clutched her chest with her hand, her heart beating fast in nervousness. Ishtar looked at her closely; she knew what she was thinking but decided not to say it out loud. She knew better than to announce people's thoughts when she had unconsciously peeked into their thoughts.

"By the way, what was his response when you were discovered?" She decided to change the topic.

Kurapika looked at her with puzzlement, not understanding her question. Ishtar raised he perfect eyebrows at her, but she refused to clarify her inquiry. She waited patiently until finally something clicked in Kurapika's mind.

"He wasn't too surprised." She replied after she thought of the _accident_ back then, weeks ago when she first lost her disguise as a boy.

"As expected." Ishtar nodded in agreement.

"Girl." Suddenly Hatsubaba inched closer towards Kurapika. "Tell me what you think of him."

"He's a selfish bastard who likes to have things his way and have fun at my expense, who thinks that he knows everything and that anything unrelated to his convenience is of no importance and therefore he has no qualms in disposing them like old useless trash." The words escaped her mouth with vengeance like a hailstorm, before she could rein herself.

The room fell into complete silence for three long seconds, before Hatsubaba once again broke into a fit of cackling laughter.

"That's it! That's what I want to hear!"

Embarrassed by her sudden insolent outburst, Kurapika's face tuned beetroot and she could feel her face burning. Even Ishtar had to laugh as well. Kurapika glanced grimly at Kuroro, but he seemed undisturbed by the noises that the two women had produced.

"That's exactly it. By golly, I have never heard a better description of the boy than yours, girl." Hatsubaba grinned at her, flashing a row of surprisingly clean teeth, only with several missing gaps.

"But your impression of him seems entirely negative." Ishtar commented, her beady obsidian eyes searching into her eyes.

"Well, you can't blame her, not after what the boy had done to her." Hatsubaba waved an impatient hand in front of her face, as if swatting away some invisible flies. "Nevertheless, I like her." The old lady beamed at Kurapika.

Kurapika smiled uneasily at her; she did not know whether to be pleased or wary towards the old woman's antics and instant fondness towards her. Suddenly, the old lady broke into a mischievous grin, and she leaned closer to Kurapika.

"Girl, let me tell you some interesting stories…"

* * *

His mind was clear, but his body was terribly sore, as thought he had not moved from the position for days. When he woke up, his body was as stiff as stone that he had to sit up and stretch his upper body. He somehow knew that the old witch doctor had mixed his drink with some sleeping pills to knock him out, but he might have to be grateful for it, though. With the extent of tiredness and fatigue he was in before he fell into deep sleep, he would not have been able to sleep as peacefully as he had.

Feeling a slight stir next to him, Kuroro looked aside to see Kurapika shifting in her soundless sleep; she was sleeping on her side, facing Kuroro. Her expression was calm, there was no trace of the agony and pain she had been suffering from days ago. He leaned over her and looked at her neck, only to find it unblemished. There was no scar whatsoever left behind on her thin neck; no bite mark, no slash wound. Gingerly, he reached out and brushed the skin lightly with the tip of his fingers. The touch roused the girl from her sleep, and Kurapika's eyes fluttered open.

She stared into his deep, endless dark eyes as soon as she opened her eyes. They were looking at him curiously, almost anticipating his next move. He had not removed his fingers from her neck, but at least he had stopped feeling her skin with his fingers. Truthfully, it gave her goose-bumps but she stubbornly refused to show it. Kurapika narrowed her eyes in suspicions.

"What are you doing?" She asked and inched away from him, sinking further into the soft bed.

"I was half expecting you to slap me, or punch me." He grinned at her and retrieved his hand back to his side. Kurapika rolled her eyes.

"Cross the line, and I'll beat the light out of you." She threatened him, inching further from the man sleeping on the same bed as her.

"Oh?" He quirked an interested eyebrow and leaned closer towards Kurapika. He wanted to test how far is 'the line' that she defined, but he stopped when the Kuruta girl raised her fist with silent ultimatum.

"Honestly, is my touch that revolting to you?" Kuroro settled back to his part of the bed, deciding not to tease the girl further in case she was really going to punch him. His body was not in the mood for another fist fight with the girl.

"You bet." Kurapika said deadpan as she relaxed her fist.

Kuroro turned to face her, there was a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Liar."

Kurapika glared at him, but there was puzzlement in her eyes. Kuroro grinned triumphantly. "You wouldn't have done what you did back then in the cave if you really hate any skin contact with me."

"You were sick." She retorted.

"I am as well now."

"I am sicker than you are right now."

"You don't look that sick to me."

"Neither do you."

"I am like this because of you."

"I didn't ask you to do anything for me."

"I didn't have any other choices."

"You could've just let me die. You don't fear death at all, anyway."

"I can't let you die yet, I told you, didn't I?"

"Reason being?"

"Can't tell you now."

"Stingy."

"So are you."

Kurapika opened her mouth to counter his words, but she could not think of any. Kuroro smiled triumphantly at her; like a child who had just won a bag of his favourite candies. Somehow, as of lately, they had started to bicker about trivial things more often than not. In her frustration, she huffed and looked away. She could not stare into his eyes for too long; lest she would always be reminded that he had shared his blood with her. At that very moment, his blood flowed in her veins, mixing with hers. When she was told that he had given his blood to save her, she had felt terribly strange. It was almost like she could physically feel another blood, one that was different from hers, flowing in her small, miniscule veins. In a way, a part of him was already inside her. She shuddered at the accursed thought, and tried to push it away from her consciousness before it destroyed her sanity. Instead, another thought popped in her minds. This time, she smiled with evil mischievousness.

She turned around to face Kuroro again.

"You know, I was told some interesting stories."

"What stories?" Kuroro asked offhandedly.

"Stories…about you." She tried to stifle the incoming laughter as she remembered those stories. This attracted Kuroro's attention and he shifted to look at her straight in the eyes, his expression serious.

"Who told you?"

"Hatsubaba."

Kuroro groaned in exasperation. This gesture surprised Kurapika and caught her off guard. She had never expected him to show that kind of attitude; it was as if his most embarrassing weakness had been discovered and was announced publicly. However, this pleased Kurapika because it just proved that the stories the old wizened woman told her were indeed useful. She had to thank the old lady sincerely later.

"So you know her already." It was more like a question than a statement.

"Barely." She admitted honestly. She only knew that she was a Nen-user specialised in healing in the city. She seemed to be good old friend with Ishtar, since they addressed each other so casually.

"She has been around since the very beginning. Nobody really knows how old she is." He told her; a habit he had picked up in his travel with her. He had a tendency to tell her things that he felt she did not know about; just for the fun of it. He knew that the girl did not like it when she knew less than he did.

"Hmm…But she sure knows a lot about you." She deliberately grinned again, evilly.

Kuroro frowned at her with displeasure. He did not say anything but his eyes told her to 'drop the subject already'. It only made her grin inwardly with triumph. Now she had a trump card against him. Oh, how her days onwards would be quite enjoyable.

* * *

"You didn't call me." She pouted at him unhappily.

Kuroro only regarded her coldly. "I don't have to. You will know eventually. Besides, you always keep track of us, don't you? That's how you knew that I was coming with the dying Kuruta."

"I do not spy on you!" Ishtar exclaimed in indignation at his accusation against her. Kuroro looked at her with a raised eyebrow, his eyes clearly doubting her. "Hassammunin came and told me, that's how I knew."

She was telling the truth. A few hours prior to Kuroro's arrival in Ryuusei-gai, the genie had paid her a short visit. He had told her that the Kuruta girl was dying and in desperation Kuroro was heading to the city, so she might want to make preparation in case the worst thing happened.

Kurapika tried not to get involved in the 'family matter', but she could not help but to hear the entire conversation. There was no helping to it; she was bound to the man, after all. Nevertheless, she tried her best to ignore the ongoing arguments, although it intrigued her how Kuroro seemed to greatly antagonise his foster mother while Ishtar was really concerned about his wellbeing. Eventually, the curiosity turned into irritation and anger; but she tried to suppress them. She was not going to explode in front of Ishtar; that would be too embarrassing and uncalled for.

In the end, Ishtar retreated from _their_ sleeping cubicle with head hung low in dejection. She smiled weakly at Kurapika to excuse herself, and then she disappeared behind the translucent curtains. Kurapika looked at Ishtar's retreating back with sympathy; she felt bad for her. Kuroro could be the worst person to deal with when it came to arguments; she had experienced it first hand in many occasions. He was too smart-mouthed for his own goodness, sometimes she just wanted to punch the wit out of him instead of debating with him. Kuroro closed his eyes and remained silent as he rethought of some issues. Kurapika looked at him closely; a disapproving frown was etched to her forehead.

"When can you stop antagonising your mother?"

"She is not my mother." He said with stern voice.

"She raised you!"

"That does not automatically make her my mother. I have no mother, end of discussion." He said curtly and dismissively.

"No, it is not." Kurapika replied stubbornly, her eyes flashed in anger. "I can't accept how you are so ungrateful towards your _foster_ mother. Not when _you_ have killed _my_ mother."

"That." Kuroro turned to her and frowned with great displeasure; he appeared to be terribly angry at her defiance. "Has nothing to do with this. She is not the kind of mother that you know. This is none of your business. You stay away from this."

Kurapika was so shocked at his sudden display of anger. Kuroro had been displeased by her at times, true, but he had never openly showed his anger towards her. Heck, he had never been angry at her; only irritated or displeased. His obsidian eyes glinted dangerously, signalling at her that he seriously meant his words. His glare zipped her mouth shut and she could not verbally retaliate. She let the subject drop and silently admitted her defeat.

* * *

Hatsubaba leaned against her old rocking chair, the soft moonlight penetrated into her small room. She gazed at the starry night sky, her wizened visage softened as she reminisced the past. Seeing the now grown-up boy had triggered the grandmother personality she had. She had been completely surprised to see the boy carrying a girl in his arms; one for whom he was willing to sacrifice his three days rest in order to save her. Even as she heard of their odd circumstances, she still could not imagine him trying so hard to save someone. Kuroro was not the type who would do anything to cheat deaths; there had to be an important reason behind everything he did for her. She had seen him growing up, and had expected to see him becoming a cold-blooded, calculating killer, unable to express emotions due to his harsh trainings and unusual upbringings.

She let out a weary sigh. Mistakes could only be realised when the disastrous results were out. Regrets would do nothing to repair it, and her dear friend Ishtar knew it better than anyone else. It was true that the boy had distanced himself from her because of her, that it was her fault. She had been hard at him, training him personally with the standard that normal humans would not have been able to withstand. The boy had miraculously survived the gruelling and hellish trainings, and he emerged as the excellent, unbeatable fighter he was; at the cost of his emotions and feelings; and perhaps conscience.

If she was to count the number of scars that the boy had on his body; the scars that he got from any fights out there could be counted with one hand only. Most of his scars he got from his trainings with Ishtar. Hatsubaba snorted in bitter amusement; she remembered one occasion when Ishtar had accidentally skewered the boy with her weapon during their sparring session. She was fortunately there, and thus was able to save his life before he expired.

Nevertheless, she felt that the boy had to learn to forgive as well. Being a very old woman she was, she was bestowed with certain wisdom so that when she saw the Kuruta girl and witnessed her personality first-hand, she suddenly had the feeling that the circumstances might not be as disastrous as they had perceived it to be. In fact, it might be beneficial for them; for the boy to come to terms with his past, and for the girl to learn to let go, and for both of them to learn to forgive.

Hatsubaba chuckled softly and looked up to gaze at the full moon. She smiled to herself as she remembered the blood transfusion she did for them. They now shared the same blood, although the girl declared themselves as enemies. She only hoped that the blood-letting process that the Kuruta girl had undergone might release some of her hatred as well. With the knowledge that his blood ran in her veins in order to save her life, it might serve as a catalyst for her to learn to accept him.

The wrinkled old lady stopped pondering and sighed. She could only hope, couldn't she?

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: A longer chapter than the previous one, alright. If you ask me what Hatsubaba means, don't expect any answer. It's just a name that randomly popped up in my head when I was trying to name the old witch doctor. Actually, I was inspired by Baba-Yaga, the witch from Russian folklore. And yes, another session of trivial bickering between the two of them. Is Kuroro too out-of-character here? I think he needs to change, too, after all he has gone through with Kurapika. Not to mention the incident in the cave. This chapter only serves to emphasise how humane Kuroro is, no? Hehehe…And as always, reviews will always be gladly welcomed. _

_**Next**__: After both had recovered, they set out in their journey again. However, just when they were scarcely out of the desert surrounding Ryuusei-gai, they received a message from Isthar, telling them to meet a certain mythical creature. She even provided them with a very…unique…transportation. _


	11. Chapter 11: You Could've Told Us Earlier

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter._

_**Story so far**__: Kurapika managed to avoid deaths thanks to Kuroro, although it was something that she had never expected before. As they continued their journey, they received a message saying that they needed to meet a certain person. They were even provided transportation, but whether it was good luck or bad luck, they just had to see it first._

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**_YOU COULD HAVE TOLD US EARLIER_**

* * *

They were scarcely out of the desert when suddenly the ring glowed red, and again Kurapika was the one who noticed the change due to her new habit. None of them knew what kind of mythological beast was nearby, but from Kuroro's observation, as the glow of the ring became more intense as seconds ticked by, he deduced that the beast was approaching them fast.

Sure enough, in a matter of minutes, they were greeted by a creature with lower body of an eagle, and the bare upper torso of a woman, with her arms replaced by a pair of sturdy eagle wings. Her face looked fierce, and her eyes stared at them intensely, scanning their faces as if memorising them. She folded her great wings by her sides and continued staring at them with her beady, sap green eyes. Kurapika frowned at the beast's behaviour. She knew it was a Harpy, but she had heard that Harpies were aggressive, and tended to attack whoever was on sight. This one seemed to be docile and civilised enough.

_Boy, the Lady has a message for you._ She suddenly spoke to Kuroro, who frowned ever so slightly upon the mention of Ishtar's name. Seeing that no reply was forthcoming, the Harpy continued.

_She said that you two are to meet with Chiron in his domain, and I am to carry the two of you there._

"Chiron?" Kurapika piped in. She had heard of that name. "Chiron, as in Chiron the Centaur?"

_You are a knowledgeable one, little girl._ The Harpy grinned at her, baring her white row of shark-like teeth at Kurapika.

"We have no need of your help. We'll find him on our own." Kuroro said sharply and had already turned around halfway when the Harpy frowned at him unhappily. She unfolded one of her wings and without warning whatsoever, she slapped Kuroro's head hard with her wing. Kuroro stumbled and almost fell down if his balance had not recovered at an inhumane speed. Kurapika gawked at the scene.

_Don't be so cocky, boy!_ The Harpy growled at him, offended by his crude remark. _A youngling like you will take decades to find his place alone. Know your place. And whether you like it or not, I follow my orders thoroughly._

With that, the Harpy unfolded her great wings and took off. She floated a few metres above the ground, before she dived towards them and snatched each of their waists with her massive talons. Kurapika gave a yelp of surprise as she suddenly found herself air-borne, only suspended by the grip of the Harpy's talon around her thin waist. When she looked around, all she saw was blurry images as the Harpy flew across the sky with a speed unmatched by any flying devices. In several minutes that felt like seconds, the Harpy gave a loud guttural cry.

_Let's see how you handle things from here. Find him on your own, like you said you would._ The Harpy challenged them; or more specifically, she challenged Kuroro.

Without slowing down, she let go of her hold of their waists, and soon enough, Kurapika found herself experiencing free-fall for the first time in her life. She was falling down in a projectile manner from a distances hundred of metres away from the ground; if she was to crash to the ground, she would splat like a tomato. She had not possessed skills that would allow her to survive such fall, unlike President Netero.

"Kuroro, you idiooooottt!" She screamed as both of them obeyed the law of gravity and continued falling from the sky to the earth.

SPLASH!

Dazed and shocked, Kurapika failed to realise that they had not yet splat like a tomato like she thought they would. Instead, they were underwater. Her eardrums throbbed painfully due to the drastic change of pressure, while her head throbbed due to the hard crash with the water surface. She flailed her arms wildly, trying to orientate herself in the water and to get a bearing. The cold water stung her eyes, and she could not see anything but blue. She was losing her oxygen supply and she started to choke. She drank some of the water, bubbled escaped from her mouth as she gaped like a drown person. Suddenly, in her panic, she felt an arm encircled around her waist and whoever it was, the owner of the arm was dragging her towards the surface of the water.

As soon as her head was out of the water, she gasped for the blessed air and tried to swim her way to the edge of the water. She hauled herself out of the water and coughed badly as she tried to get rid of the remaining water in her mouth. Kuroro sat next to her and was nothing like her. He was calm, although he was thoroughly wet as she was. Kurapika scowled at him.

"You knew we were going to land into the lake." She accused him.

"I thought you spotted the lake down here as we fell." He shrugged and combed his wet hair with his fingers. "And what's with the 'idiot' part when we were falling?"

Kurapika glared at him with the absence of her scarlet eyes. "If you hadn't been so rude to the Harpy, we wouldn't be falling from the sky."

"Perhaps." He commented again offhandedly, which only served to irritate her.

"And thanks to that, our backpacks are soaked wet! And so are the clothes inside!" She was close to scream as she looked at her drenched backpack with distraught.

"We can dry them later." He shrugged nonchalantly.

The Kuruta girl looked away in her attempt to calm herself down, but as she looked to the direction of the lake, her eyes widened in disbelief upon spotting something there. Her mouth hung open for a moment, before she finally called out.

"Rusalka?"

_You finally notice me._ The siren flapped her tail happily, although her tone was faintly sarcastic. _And what a liar you are. I was right all along, you ARE a girl._ She narrowed her blue eyes with accusation.

"I… I'm sorry but…I was in a condition to disguise myself as a boy…" Kurapika ducked her head in apology.

_I understand._ Rusalka waved her hand impatiently in front of her face, dismissing Kurapika's apology.

"So this is the siren you told me." Kuroro suddenly spoke behind her. A realisation hit Kurapika hard and hastily she pulled Kuroro's face away from Rusalka, in a rather harsh manner.

"What are you doing? Don't look at her!" She hissed at him. She did not want to get into the trouble of preventing the man from plunging into the lake due to the siren's enchantment.

Kuroro blinked at her with surprise, shocked by Kurapika's treatment but mostly surprised by Kurapika's deliberate action of touching him; his face, no less. She even covered his ears; for fear that he could hear the siren's voice and was bewitched by it. A ring of pleasant laughter came from the said siren as she witnessed the hilarious scene.

_You are amusing. Don't worry, he won't be affected by my magic since the two of you are well protected by those rings you have._ Rusalka explained after she was done with her share of laughter.

"Rings?" Kurapika looked at her ring, and it glowed bright red like a laser. She had hurriedly detached herself from Kuroro right after she heard Rusalka's explanation. Kuroro looked at his, and it was shining brilliant red as well.

_It has a protective charm against the magic of our kind._ She leaned forward and looked at them with interest. The water lapped gently around her.

"But I was poisoned." Kurapika muttered to herself as she touched her neck gingerly where the snake of the Chimera had bitten her. The siren heard her and chuckled.

_It will protect you against our magic, but not physical attacks. Any curses or magic, it will nullify them. Physical damages and any direct damages are impervious._

"Why are you here? I thought you were supposed to be residing in the forest near the Ryuusei-gai." Kuroro asked her casually.

_Well, I'm here for a visit._ The siren straightened up. _Anyway, I'm supposed to deliver a message. Chiron is waiting for you. Go towards the tallest pine tree over there, he'll be somewhere near there._ She said as she pointed her blue index finger towards a direction.

"Somewhere?" Kuroro raised an eyebrow at the vague direction.

_The old ass likes to wander everywhere. It's too difficult for him to stay at one place for a long time._ The pretty woman sighed, as if she had suffered much from that habit of the centaur. _Anyway, good luck in finding him_.

With that, the siren ducked into the water and did not emerge anymore. Silence fell between them until they finally got up and continued their way towards the tall pine tree. They tried to dry themselves as they walked, while Kurapika kept complaining about being wet, and the drenched clothes, and the possibility of catching a cold, and so on and so forth. Kuroro, as usual, only ignored her ranting.

* * *

They have already reached the pine tree eons ago, but as Rusalka had anticipated, the Centaur was nowhere to be seen. Instead of searching for him, Kurapika had opted to stay there and dry their clothes as they waited for the 'old ass' to come back to the pine tree. Kuroro agreed with her and stayed there.

Both tried to find any clothes that had survived their fall into the lake, and they changed their clothes. Kurapika changed behind the bushes, but when she emerged from the bushes in her new attire, she spotted Kuroro still topless. To her horror, she saw those scars all over his body. The most horrifying scar was the one huge scar around his stomach. It looked like as if something had pierced through him, and he had survived it.

Just as Kuroro turned around, Kurapika had already averted her gaze somewhere else and busied herself. She had no desire to discuss about it right then, reason being she did not want to hear the gruesome story on how he got those scars, and furthermore she was almost sure that he would not talk about it anyway.

For a long time they sat on the grass, overlooking the wet clothes laid on the dry grass. Kurapika was already dozing off, while Kuroro was already blissfully napping long time ago as he lay down on the warm grass.

"Ohohoho! A human couple!" A bass voice suddenly boomed out of nowhere.

Alerted, Kurapika sprung to her feet. She looked around like a cat ready to pounce. Kuroro, on the other hand, only got up and blinked his eyes sleepily. There was no tension about him at all.

"Fresh and young. How long hath it been since the last time I ever saw a human venturing into this humble dwelling of mine?" The voice continued to say.

Soon enough, Kurapika could hear the thumping sound of a four-legged creature sauntering towards their place. She could determine, from the sound of the hoofs, that whatever creature was coming, it was definitely huge. Just as she had predicted, a massive Centaur emerged from the bushes. Its lower body, which was that of a powerful stag, walked with a confident stance. The upper torso was that of a naked man; his chest was muscular, with brown fur covering the centre of the chest. The face was that of a middle-aged man, with brown goatee and pointed ears, yet that face shone with wisdom of a hermit.

"Pray tell, humans! What business have ye brought along?" The Centaur continued, his eyes glistened with curiosity. "I, Chiron, shall aid ye with whatever is required. Venturing deep into the heart of this forest, as ye have done, would only mean that the forest hath deemed ye as bearing no harm to the dwellers of this place."

"Uh…" Kurapika, in all honesty, was flustered to suddenly face a partially humanoid creature who spoke in old dialect. She was at loss on how to answer the Centaur.

"We come here by the behest of Lady Ishtar. Surely you have heard of it?" Kuroro stood up and dusted his pants casually.

Kuroro turned around and looked at him straight in the eyes. Truthfully, he was curious about the Centaur as well. He had heard stories about his wisdom and vast knowledge. He wanted to know, and learn. Chiron cocked his head to one side and frowned. He crossed his hairy arms across his muscular chest. Then, as if something clicked in his mind, his eyes brightened.

"Ah…" He nodded. "Yes, yes, of course. Thou ought to be Milady's ward, I perceive?"

"I suppose so." Kuroro shrugged.

"And the lass over there…" Chiron turned to Kurapika, who was still at loss of speech. "I perceive that she be thy leman?"

Not understanding the meaning of leman, Kurapika stared at the Centaur with confusion. Kuroro suddenly burst out laughing, as if that was the worst joke in the world. Kurapika blinked and looked at Kuroro with the most incredulous look on her face. The Centaur himself seemed unaware on why the young man had suddenly laughed.

"No, no. That would be fallacy to assume so, I'm afraid. I'm surprised, Chiron, for I have thought that you would be wise enough not to blindly assume on people's association with others on first sight, no?"

Kuroro smirked at the Centaur, who had recovered from his confusion and was then smiling at him. His smile seemed like that of a grandfather who was listening to his grandson's youthful yet lacking wisdom remarks.

"And have thee not assumed for thy self that I hath weened of thine association with the damsel there? No, lad. I do not ween, as thou have presumed." He replied. "Just as thou have said, Milady hath informed me of thine arrival."

It was very apparent that Kuroro seemed to be taken aback by his witty reply. The Centaur won hands-down on their little game of words, and Kuroro Lucifer was not accustomed on losing in a game of words. As Chiron smiled kindly at him, he pouted slightly. Kurapika, however, was too confused to spot that slight childish expression that Kuroro rarely showed.

"And do enlighten me on what is going on here." She finally asked Kuroro. "What did he mean by leman?"

"Leman means…" Kuroro hesitated for a second. Knowing Kurapika and her knack to overreact, he tried to look for a suitable explanation. However, in the end, she would still burst, anyway. "Well, it simply means lover."

And the bomb was dropped.

"WHAAAAT?" The colour quickly escaped Kurapika's face. She turned to Chiron, her face furious. "Where did you get such terrible misconception?"

"I guess it'll be Ishtar's doing." Kuroro muttered drily.

"Oh, whatever it is, this misunderstanding must be straightened up!" Kurapika turned to face Chiron, who was looking at them with amusement on his ancient face. "Good sir, if you may let me correct you, there is no way, not in a bazillion of years, that I will ever be his lover. Never. Ever."

"And why is that so, my lovely damsel?"

"Because this man was the brain behind the massacre of my tribe." Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "And I will never forgive him for that." She continued in a mutter, as if saying it to herself.

Kuroro, who was standing slightly behind Kurapika, looked at her with his dark eyes. He said nothing in his defence, nor did he make any excuses for the crime he had committed. He had no regret doing it. Not the slightest remorse in his heart. Chiron looked at Kurapika, and then to Kuroro. He hummed lowly and seemed to be thinking of something, when he suddenly approached Kurapika.

"Then, lass, allow me to read thy fortunes." He asked politely, his hand outstretched to her.

Kurapika looked up, and only then she realised the real extent of the Centaur's size. He towered over her, and her head barely reached his belly. His stag body was as massive as a stallion's. Kurapika looked at his large hand with bewilderment, not understanding what he was asking for. She hesitantly glanced at Kuroro, who was standing not far away (due to the bind) while leaning his weight on one leg.

"Palmistry. He is asking for your hand." He simply told her. He knew from her look that she was demanding some kind of explanation of what was going on.

"True, my lad. We, Centaurs, master the art of palmistry. Humans' lives are etched on their palms since the very moment of their birth. The lines in their palms hold the secret that outlines the course of one's life. The future, however, is forbidden to be told to the person."

"What can you tell then?" Kurapika asked with slight confusion.

"All about thy self, except for thy future."

"….If that is the case…I don't want my fortunes to be read." She said firmly.

"Oh? Why? Pray tell me thy reason." The Centaur looked rather disappointed.

"I don't want people to be snooping around my life." She cast a quick glance to Kuroro. "And announce it in front of others, no less."

"Hmm…That will be a difficult decision, I'm afraid, lassie." Chiron shook his head.

"What do you mean?" She asked with new bewilderment.

"Because…" The Centaur smirked at her. "I can only tell ye _the_ crucial information after I have read thy fortunes." He turned to Kuroro. "And his, as well."

"How crucial this information you are telling us will be?" Kuroro stepped forward and faced him with serious visage.

"It involves that bind that ties yer lives together." The Centaur hinted.

Kuroro raised an eyebrow at his vague hint, but said nothing to demand more. He looked at Kurapika and gave her a meaningful look. Kurapika rolled her eyes in exasperation, because she understood what he was telling her. They had better abode by the rules that the Centaur made, since they were in his domicile, after all.

That said, Kurapika lifted her hand palm up to Chiron. The Centaur took her hand and caressed her palm. He then stretched it and stared at it with certain intensity in his eyes. Kurapika stood awkwardly before him, inwardly she was squirming uneasily. Chiron traced the lines on his palm quietly, as if tracing Braille words. After a minute or so, he let go of her hand. Chiron then proceeded with Kuroro's hand. When he was done, he took one step back and seemed to be mulling over something.

"So?" Kurapika asked expectantly.

"Ye indeed have the most intriguing fortunes…" The Centaur nodded. "I cannot comprehend why, but yer futures were as white as a blank piece of paper."

"Blank?" Kurapika blinked.

"Lives intertwined with others, roads crossed, an unwritten future awaits ye. Fear not, though, my friends, for in every unseen future, there will always be countless possibilities."

Kurapika and Kuroro exchanged quick glances. In that instant, they both seemed to be in one of those rare occasions where they had common agreement. The Centaur was really an odd creature, and overly dramatic.

"As of yer selves, would ye desire I to speak the words?" The Centaur inquired them.

"Even without you translating from palmistry, I think I know roughly by now what kind of person he is." Kurapika muttered. "Definitely a selfish person who thinks only for his interest."

"Ah, let not thy judgement be clouded by thine emotions. See with thy hearts, for one's true self can only be seen by the hearts, for thine eyes were as good as blind." The Centaur shook his head in mild reprimand.

"Are you saying that my judgment about him is wrong?" Kurapika frowned at him. She did not want her concept of Kuroro's evil self to be destroyed. She did not wish to see the good side of that man, lest she lost her hatred towards him.

"Lass, palmistry do not lie. Truth to be spoken, thy companion is not a selfish man at all. He—"

"Enough of this dilly-dally." Suddenly Kuroro spoke up, his voice stern. He frowned at Chiron with displeasure. Kurapika looked at him with wide eyes. It was very obvious that Kuroro had no wish for his true self to be revealed to Kurapika. That just served to make her more curious, though.

"So, what's about the crucial information you've been talking about?" Kuroro asked, trying to refocus to the initial aim of their visit to Chiron.

"Aah, yes of course. How far have we strayed from our true objective? Forgive me for my digression." The Centaur bowed slightly at them, politely apologising.

"The information." Kuroro said again. He had lost any appetite for small talks with the Centaur.

"Pray be patient, my lad. Impatience may bring disaster in the course of thine actions." The Centaur told him wisely. "As for the information, I am obliged to inform you that during every new moon, you will attain temporary freedom."

"Temporary…freedom?" Kurapika frowned in confusion. She was getting tired of being confused with the Centaur's manner of speech.

"For every new moon, Hasamunnin will lose his prowess, his magicks depleted from him. At that moment, only then you will be freed from his curse."

"Simply put, every new moon the bind will be non-existent." Kuroro simplified his information.

"Thou may put it that way." The Centaur nodded in agreement.

Kurapika looked at the Centaur, and then to Kuroro. She blinked several times, her brain tried to process the information.

"You mean I can get away from him as far as possible on new moons?"

"Even if you go to the end of the world, it won't matter; on that night only." Kuroro told her, amusement on his face. He could see the Kuruta bursting into fury.

Kurapika gawked for five long seconds, before she screeched.

"You could have told us earlier! Then I can at least spend a blissful night away from him!" If she was alone, she would have pulled her hair in exasperation.

"And I can spare myself a moment of peace, away from her ranting." Kuroro added with monotonous voice.

The Centaur laughed good-naturedly upon seeing them bickering. "Well, I shall leave the matter to your hands. In addition, Milady also desires to share her wisdom. She perceives that it will be best for she and I to handle the matter of seeking out thy mythical creatures. As kinfolks, we will have better chance to find what you seek."

Kuroro frowned at this. If Ishtar had really wanted to help, she would have done so much earlier. Deriving from the Centaur's manner of speaking when addressing her, Ishtar would be in a post equal to the Centaur, in terms of age and knowledge.

"In the meanwhile, hence, ye art best to make peace with whatever conflicts ye presently hath." Chiron continued.

Kurapika went rigid for a second. The first thing that flashed into her mind was the Scarlet Eyes and the massacre of her tribe. She could feel her eyes stinging, threatening to turn scarlet that moment, but she held it back.

"I hath delivered my messages to you, and hence finished art my task." The Chiron looked up to the sky. "The sky hath darkened, dusk is falling. Do spend a night here, my friends, for it is safer here than out there. The forest will protect ye from any harm."

Without much to say, the two consented to the Centaur's invitation to spend the night in the forest.

* * *

Kurapika stared at the humble fire of their temporary camp. She remembered Kuroro telling her that the more powerful the creatures were, the harder it was to find them. Common humans like them would take decades to find one powerful enough the break a genie's spell. She had been grateful that the Centaur and Ishtar were kind enough to offer a helping hand in finding those creatures. She did not want to travel the world aimlessly with Kuroro Lucifer, of all people.

Speaking of which, she recalled Kuroro's hasty interruption when Chiron was about to say something about his personality. He seemed unwilling to let her know of his true nature, or so she deduced. Kurapika pondered over it for a while, before she shook her head to rid herself of such thought. Whatever that man wanted to do with him self, she ought not to have anything to do with it.

Kuroro, meanwhile, was staring at his palm for quite a while. He remembered the slightest change of expression on the Centaur's face when he was reading his fortunes. Something extraordinary was written in his destiny, or so the Centaur would say. He was curious, yet he felt uneasy that someone else knew about himself more than he did. He felt somewhat insecure.

"While we wait for them…" Kurapika suddenly spoke. "Shouldn't we collect the Scarlet Eyes?"

Her voice was small, but audible enough for Kuroro to hear. He did not turn to look at her, but he merely shifted his attention to the fire.

"I suppose so. After all, we are to take care of our current problems first, the bind aside." He responded flatly.

…_make peace with whatever conflicts thou presently hath._

Kuroro snorted inwardly. What a smart-mouthed fellow the Centaur was, he bitterly thought. He knew that the Centaur did not only mean problems like the Scarlet Eyes. He knew that the Centaur was referring to something else; things more personal and deep. He had no idea whether the Kuruta girl understood it or not, but that aside, he had no intention to touch that subject.

"We can do it every new moon." He suddenly said.

Kurapika turned to look at him, her gaze asking him to elaborate.

"Every new moon, we are not tied by the bind. We'll have more space to move about. It will be easier for us to get our hands on those Scarlet Eyes." He explained.

"Oh…" Kurapika mumbled and looked at the fire again. She said nothing for quite a while as she thought of it. Truthfully, she wanted to get away from him. She was getting too comfortable with him around, and it alarmed her. However, he did have a point in saying that. Priority-wise, Scarlet Eyes would be on top of the list now.

"Fine then…" She said without averting her gaze from the flickering fire.

They fell into peaceful silence. Most of the time when they camped, they did not really talk much, so it was already a routine for them to be in such silence, that they respectively found a kind of peace for themselves in those moments.

Suddenly, they both heard the soft rustles of the bushes nearby. Both not alarmed, since Chiron had assured them that the forest had no intention on harming them, they kept themselves in their spots, and merely looked towards the bushes. They waited for whatever behind the bushes to come out. Not a moment later, something glowed from darkness of the forest, behind those bushes. A Unicorn then emerged to the clearing where they were camping.

Kurapika gawked at what she was seeing. She had heard of unicorns in fairytales, and she had once wished she could see one. And here she was looking at one right then. The Unicorn was the most beautiful thing to behold, the most graceful horse she ever saw in her life. Its body was pure white, and it glowed softly and subtly in the darkness of the forest. The golden horn protruded from its forehead, glittering like gold dusts. Its mane glistened like silk, each strands the pale colour of platinum silver with faint tint of pale blue. Its beady eyes stared at her with equal curiosity as she held for it.

"A Unicorn? How quaint." Kuroro mused, his mouth upturned into a small, amused smile. He had heard of the tales of unicorns from Ishtar during his childhood, of course. He looked at Kurapika, and as he had expected, she was curious about the animal.

"You will do better not to approach it first. Unicorns are very wary of strangers, and they are surprisingly belligerent, for something that looks so docile. One thrust of the horn, and you are a goner." He told her automatically; a new habit he picked during his journey with the younger girl.

"So we can only wait for it to approach us?" She asked, her eyes still glued to the horse.

"If it is going to approach us at all." He shrugged, but nevertheless he looked at the Unicorn again. He was Kuroro Lucifer, someone who greatly appreciated beautiful things. The Unicorn was one of such things; if not more, and he was going to appreciate it as much as he could.

After a minute or so, the Unicorn started to saunter towards them, its eyes still glued on Kurapika. When it walked, the hoofs made no noise as it stepped on the grassy ground. Silently, it approached them until it was only a pace away from the girl. Kurapika looked at it with marvels. It was such a once in the lifetime opportunity; to see a Unicorn with her own eyes. Gingerly, she lifted a hand and reached out to the mythical horse, while observing the Unicorn's reaction.

Instead of backing away, as Kurapika anticipated, the horned-horse inched closer and nuzzled the tip of its nose against Kurapika's small hand and licked it. It breathed softly against her hand with pleasure as Kurapika proceeded to stroke its nose gently. Her face shone brightly with delight, for the Unicorn seemed to accept her.

"You know, Unicorns only allow virgins to touch them." Kuroro suddenly told her, as he anticipated for her usually exaggerated reaction.

Kurapika spun her head to glare at him, and he could see the faint blush on her face.

"There is no need to tell me of such embarrassing information." She protested.

"What is so embarrassing about it?" He asked as he smiled with amusement. "I thought it is a good thing?"

Just as he finished his sentence, suddenly the Unicorn averted its attention to the man and approached him. It nuzzled its nose against Kuroro's shoulder and even licked his cheek. Kuroro seemed greatly taken aback with it, for he had not anticipated that the horse would even get near him. What more, the harder he tried to push the horse away, the more it leaned towards him.

"Ha. So you are a virgin as well." Kurapika said with mock in her voice. Inwardly, though, she was quite surprise that the man, of all people, was still a virgin.

"What a sight!" A booming voice greeted them. "I'm quite surprised, truth to be said, that the foal will be so attracted by ye."

"This is only a foal?" Kurapika asked as she turned to see Chiron, who was ambling down the path towards them.

"Indeed, lass. A stubborn one, with the tendency to rebel against the mother." The Centaur barked a laugh.

"And how can I get it away from me?" Kuroro tried to inch away from the Unicorn, but the horse would not budge.

"Ah, my lad. Hath my words not reached thine ears? This foal is strong-willed. She listens not to her mother, thereafter how am I to command her to pray be away from thee?" Chiron shook his head dramatically.

"That's very helpful." Kuroro rolled his eyes and muttered sarcastically.

After a minute that seemed like eternity of 'harassment', the foal finally seemed to be satisfied and she averted her attention back to Kurapika. She stroked her head gently, as if she was rightfully her pet.

"I bet she will straight away love Gon." She muttered with small smile tugging her lips.

"That naïve little friend of yours?" Kuroro chuckled, remembering the intrepid boy he had encountered back then at the streets of Yorkshin City.

"Naïve? Well I suppose you can call him so."

Kurapika closed her eyes and recalled the faces of her dear friends. She wondered how Leorio was doing; she hoped that he was doing fine with his medical studies. Gon and Killua, she was sure that they were getting along well as ever. They were the best illustration of best friends that she could come up with. She sighed softly as she remembered the violent reaction that Killua had given her when he knew of her journey with Kuroro Lucifer. She could only wish that the young Zoldyck would understand her situation one day.

The Unicorn licked her face and peered into her oceanic blue eyes. Those beady eyes seemed to reassure her that her problems would be solved. Kurapika smiled and leaned her head against her nose.

She could only hope that the Unicorn was right.

* * *

"Greetings, Milady! How thou art always as beautiful as ever. Long hath it been since the last time we saw each other." The Centaur bowed his head in respect to the reflection in the fountain water.

"Greetings to you too, Chiron. It's been decades since the last time we met, true." The reflection of Ishtar in the water smiled at the ancient Centaur.

"I hath seen thy ward and his companion. Truly they art unusual humans."

"Is that so? Where are they now?"

"Send them to visit the Lady in Red, I hath done. Worry not, Milady, for a Unicorn foal hath insisted on accompanying them in their little voyage."

"A Unicorn foal? How unusual." Ishtar raised an eyebrow. A Unicorn approaching Kuroro? Now that was something highly remarkable. Moreover, Unicorn foals were famous to be especially picky.

"And the foal seems to be fond of the damsel."

That was not too surprising, Ishtar thought.

"Milady, there is something that must be told of thy ward and his companion." The Unicorn suddenly said with solemn voice.

"Is it good or bad?" Ishtar asked warily.

"I'm afraid I can't tell, Milady, for I do not fathom it myself. I almost could not believe what mine eyes showed me, Milady, for the eyes sometimes delude me. For a human, such is the lad, an extraordinarily long life is very rare. What more, their futures were entirely unwritten."

"Unwritten future?" Ishtar thought out loud with a deep frown. It was extremely rare to find a human with unwritten future. Kuroro having a long life was not too surprising, considering his remarkable survival skills, although she knew that the boy would not be very pleased to hear that.

For Kuroro's and Kurapika's case, it could only mean that their relationship could develop into anything possible, and their futures depended on it. Supposing so, the decision to send them to meet the Lady in Red would be very wise, indeed.

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: Truthfully, I have slight problem in writing this chapter. Chiron is a famous Centaur, although in the legend he should have died in a kind of accident. Anyway, I think he should use the old kind of dialect, so I try using Old English. But dear me, how hard it is. I don't even know whether what I'm writing is correct or not, but oh well… I hope you all understand what they all mean. And for those wondering who the heck is the Lady in Red, just keep reading this story, and you will get to know it in the coming chapters. Hehehe, it won't be too long, no worries._

_**Next**__: They were sent to meet a person called the Lady in Red, but alas, they could not reach the destination in straight path. They had business to take care along the way, and something interesting was bound to occur._


	12. Chapter 12: A Moment of Insanity

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter_

_**Story so far**__: Kuroro and Kurapika were accompanied by a Unicorn foal for their journey to meet the Lady in Red. However, halfway their journey they had to stop in certain towns for certain business…_

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**_A MOMENT OF INSANITY_**

* * *

He looked around to make sure that nobody was following him, or that nobody would see him sneaking into the hotel's room. Well, to call it a hotel would be an overestimation. It was a really modest hotel, or more like a luxurious inn. He blended into the shadows, and crept his way to the window of a room at the third floor. He knocked thrice at the glass of the closed window and waited.

"Come in, Shalnark." Came the reply from inside the room.

Carefully, the young man pushed the window open and slid his way into the room. Once in, he quickly scanned the room; it was a small room, with two single beds at one corner. The room smelled faintly of lavender; the trademark of the hotel. The hotel was pretty famous around the area for having different rooms with different theme based on the scent of the room. They had rose, lavender, citrus, mahogany, etc.

"Do you bring the list?" The man occupying the room asked him. He was sitting at the sofa at the other corner of the room. A small figure was sitting beside him.

"Yes, Danchou. The names, the locations; they are all here." Shalnark said as he offered the paper to Kuroro, while his gaze fell on the girl next to the older man.

Kurapika was sitting while hugging her knees, her face buried in her knees that only the mop of her blonde hair could be seen. She sat still like a stone, and gave no response as Shalnark entered the room. He had half-expected to be greeted by some hostile or unhappy stare by the girl, since the girl hated the Genei Ryodan with all her heart, but she seemed lifeless. Kuroro, meanwhile, skimmed through the list of the owners of the Scarlet Eyes silently. His eyes stopped at a certain part of the paper and he raised an eyebrow slightly. After a while, he folded the paper and looked at Shalnark, who was still looking at Kurapika.

"Let her be. She is not feeling well today." He simply stated, with finality in his tone. Shalnark immediately knew that Kuroro had no desire to elaborate further about the girl's condition. He did not dare to push his luck.

"Well, anything else, Danchou? Any orders?"

"For now, there is none. Once I have any plan, I will contact you first. You may go." He dismissed the young man. It was decided automatically that Shalnark would take Pakunoda's post as the second-in-command for Kuroro. He would be the one to relay all the orders given by Kuroro to the other members.

"Okay. Bye, then, Danchou. Take care." Shalnark waved a goodbye at Kuroro cheerily and turned around. However, before he stepped out of the window, he stopped for a while and turned his face to look at Kurapika.

"You too, Kurapika. Get well soon." Kurapika twitched ever so slightly at his warm words. With that, he sneaked out of the room, and once again the room was inhibited by only two people.

The room fell into silence, albeit not an uncomfortable one. Kuroro leaned back against the soft sofa and closed his eyes. Kurapika still made no moves. For five minutes or so, they stayed that way.

"It's okay to look up now." Kuroro finally said, his voice soft. He received no reply whatsoever from the girl.

He really wanted to sigh and massaged the bridge of his nose, but he fought against the urge. Kurapika was having the monthly mood swings due to her menstrual period, but still he was having a hard time getting used of it. At least she did not complain as much anymore. She would suddenly sulk and seem upset for no apparent reason. The girl had been a really logical and reasonable one; she always had reasons for her actions. Lately, she had none of those logics.

"_You will have to put up with her mood swings later, because she is entering her puberty. She will act irrationally and emotionally, and you better not make it worse. You are a grown-up, aren't you? Take care of her."_

That was Ishtar's warning for him before they took off from Ryuusei-gai the second time. He had dismissed the idea as unlikely, since he thought he knew that the girl was more than able to handle herself. Well, it seemed that he was mistaken and the girl was not capable of such control, much to his dismay, to handle her hormonal changes. He himself was at loss on how to deal with the girl. He had never assumed the role of a care-taker, much less for a teenage girl with rampaging hormones. She would put an anguished expression, but at the same time strangely she did not really shun away from his presence; while previously she would try to be at the furthest distance for him. Take this instance for an example. Kurapika did not even mind that they sat at a very close proximity, his shoulder almost touching hers.

Right then, they were renting a room in an inn since Kurapika was having her violent period again. She needed to rest for days when it came to the accursed week. They asked the Unicorn to stay in the woods and waited for them, and it seemed that the magical horse had no objection.

"Kurapika." He tried again. He rarely called her by her given name, since she seemed to dislike being called so by him. He thought the girl might be unwilling to be addressed so by her sworn enemy.

"The list is here. All 34 pairs of them." He told her, while his keen eyes tried to look for any hint of response. Originally, there were supposed to be 36 pairs, but they already had 2 pairs.

She nodded weakly.

"There is one in the neighbouring town." He told her again. This time, she looked up. Her eyes were faintly bloodshot and they were rather swollen; the tell-tale sign that she had been crying silently. His frown was barely noticeable, but it was there.

"Really?" She asked, her voice raspy. There was a hint of hopefulness in those tired eyes.

"Yes." He unfolded the paper and showed it to her. She took the paper from his hand and skimmed the page. Her eyes fell on one part, and her grip on the paper tightened. Kuroro kept observing her reaction.

"Are you in for it?" He asked her, like a doctor asking his patient. From Chiron's explanation, they were granted one day of freedom from Hassamunnin's magic during the new moon, when his power was weakest. Unfortunately, they still had not discovered the extent of their 'temporary freedom' yet. Coincidentally, the owner of the pair of Scarlet Eyes was going to have a social gathering at that night.

She nodded.

"Then it's settled. In that case, to fill in the time, why don't you tell me about what's bothering you?" His dark eyes were still fixed on her.

Kurapika looked at him with surprised eyes, but soon looked away and answered nothing. Truthfully, Kuroro really wanted her to spill out everything, since it bothered him that there was something off and he could not solve the problems. However, he wisely chose not the push the issue and let the girl be. She would be better soon, or so he hoped.

"Well, I'll take that as a no."

He took the paper from her hand, his fingers brushing hers and she did not flinch this time.

* * *

She looked at the dress with distaste clear on her face. She frowned at it, as if it was coated with poison, although indeed its colour was of bright red, the silk glistening brilliantly under the illumination of the light. Kuroro waited for her to say something about the dress that he had chosen for her. Kurapika finally looked up with her most unhappy face.

"Come on, you can't be dressing up as a boy anymore." He rolled his eyes, knowing what the Kuruta girl was thinking.

"Still…" She pursed her lips. "I don't like wearing dresses."

Nevertheless, she still dragged her way to the bathroom and changed into the dress. Kuroro stood near the door, the allotted space allowed by the bind had expanded considerably to allow them some private space. When Kurapika finally emerged, Kuroro turned around and he could not help but to be surprised by what he saw.

The dress hugged the girl's body perfectly; his guess had not been wrong of her size. The oriental collar was rimmed gold, the dress was parted on one side, exposing a bit of her milk-coloured leg up to her mid-thigh. Her bare shoulder and her upper back seemed to glow under the light, the fair skin as smooth as a baby's.

"Why halter neck?" She complained as she tried to adapt herself in the tight-fitting dress.

Kuroro said nothing but merely appreciated her. Secretly, he felt proud that he had chosen the right dress for the girl, and moreover that she looked really gorgeous in it. Kurapika, on the other hand, felt really self-conscious and nervous. She had never worn something so exposing before, and she felt naked in it. She wanted to change back to her usual casual attire, but she knew that the older man would not let her. As she noticed Kuroro's gaze on her, and his appreciating look, she became even more self-conscious and she squirmed uneasily. She knew that she was not that ugly, but she was also aware that her 'asset' was not really something to be boasted. For someone who had A cup-sized breasts, of course she would not feel so confident in such tight-fitting dress. Lucky he gave her a halter neck to cover for her lack of asset.

"You look good in it, so stop complaining." Kuroro said finally. However, his gaze never left her. He sensed something missing in her. Although she already looked pretty naturally, she still looked to plain for someone going to a social gathering; especially if she was to pretend to be someone from aristocratic family.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Danchou, they are all ready." A feminine voice called out from behind the door.

"Ah, perfect timing, Machi. Can you lend me your kit?"

"Kit? What—oh…" There was a moment of silence, and then Machi entered the room with a small box in her hand. Without any words, she gave the box to Kuroro, who muttered a thank-you to her. Machi then retreated from the room, but not before sparing Kurapika a measuring glance.

"What is that?" Kurapika asked, but she got her answer as soon as Kuroro opened the box. By golly, for her it was a box of horror.

"Sit down here, I'll do the make-up for you."

* * *

"Hey, Machi. Do I look good in this suit?" Phinks called out to the girl as he adjusted his tie.

"Does it matter?" She coldly commented without even looking his way.

"Of course! After all, I'm supposed to be a bodyguard for Danchou in this party." He sulked at her cold shoulder.

"Just put on some sunglasses." She said as she rolled her eyes.

Phinks, Nobunaga, and Shalnark had been appointed to be the 'bodyguard' for Kuroro and Kurapika, while the duo pretended to be the heads of a noble, influential family. The rest of the Spiders were left behind as they were not planning to raid the mansion, so there was no need to assemble the whole gang. Shalnark was there when Kuroro told him of the plan, and he had witnessed how enraged the girl was when she heard that she had to pretend to be Kuroro's lover. Kuroro had managed to convince the girl into the act, although the girl seemed the most reluctant to do so. They even had to go and especially buy a dress for Kurapika, since she had no such thing in her meagre belongings.

"Ne, Machi." He called out to Machi, who looked his way without a word. "Do you think this plan will work out?"

"You know there is no plan that won't work out if Danchou is the one who comes up with it." She told him with unhappiness, as if she was upset that Shalnark had doubted Kuroro's plan.

"I know that, but considering that Kurapika is in the plan…" His voice trailed away. Machi looked at him in the eyes and she knew what he was thinking. Kurapika was, naturally, rebellious towards Kuroro since he was, after all, the brain behind the murder of her entire tribe. It was just possible that the girl might screw up in the middle of the plan.

"Don't worry. This will be a big success."

"Was that your instinct talking?"

"Need you ask?"

* * *

"Stop fidgeting." He took her chin with his left hand and forced her to look his way.

"But it's too uncomfortable." She retorted and tried to push away but he would not let go.

"Just bear with it. Close your eyes." He quickly took the eyeliner and started applying it as soon as she closed her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered as the eyeliner touched the skin, and her eyelashes quivered. She frowned in discomfort, but tried to put up with it.

"Don't open your eyes yet, wait until it's dry." He instructed her.

Reluctantly, Kurapika obeyed him and shut her eyes. Kuroro had applied a thin layer of make-up for her, since the girl declared that she had never put on any make-up in her entire 17 years of life. She had demanded to know why a man like him would know how to apply make-up, where it was actually unnecessary for him to not know about such thing. Kuroro only shrugged and said that somebody forced him to learn. Kurapika knew that he meant Ishtar, and she said nothing anymore.

"I believe you can put on your own lipstick?" He asked, and she hurriedly snatched the lipstick from his hand and made her way to the bathroom.

When Kurapika emerged from the bathroom and returned the lipstick to him, he noticed a slight smear of the lipstick at the corner of her lipstick.

"Wait."

He stopped her and without asking for permission, he wiped the excess lipstick on the corner of her lips with his thumb. The gesture surprised the Kuruta girl and had her guard down when he touched her lips unannounced. She froze on her spot, but did not swat away his hand. At the same time, Shalnark had entered the room without knocking the door, and had seen Kuroro touching her lips. He himself was stunned and froze on his spot, but hurriedly made his escape from the room before the girl could explode and started attempting to murder him. Although he saw no logic in it, he just had the feeling that he had better not been caught red-handed seeing them in such closeness.

"What's with the hurry, Shal? You look like you've seen a ghost or something." Nobunaga asked him in a joke, but suddenly he frowned. "Did something happen in the room?"

"Huh?" Shalnark blinked, not understanding the meaning of the samurai's words. "No, but…Wait, Nobu!"

Nobunaga had dashed and barged into the room occupied by Kuroro and Kurapika, his sword brandished and ready for action. Just as he entered, he turned into a stone, as if he had seen a gorgon in the room. There, in the room, was Kuroro holding Kurapika's body while the girl leaned against his chest and was clutching his arms for support. Truthfully, Kurapika had been trying out the heels and had tripped on her first attempt, and Kuroro was just catching her in her fall, but Nobunaga seemed to have gotten the wrong idea. Furthermore, Kurapika was already wearing her wig and the samurai did not seem to recognise her as the chain-user. Nobunaga's mouth fell open like an idiot, while Kuroro turned to look at him with a surprised expression, while Kurapika started to blush furiously.

A wrathful scream saying "GET OUT!" was heard and soon the people outside the room found Nobunaga running for his dear life from the room.

"What happened?" Phinks asked, bewildered to see Nobunaga so flustered.

"I—i—in—in—in the room…" Nobunaga's eyes were still wide in shock. Shalnark sighed while Machi shook her head in exasperation.

"What's in the room?" Phinks asked with a frown.

"I never thought you'd be so scared to see a girl, Nobu." Kuroro said with a chuckle as he emerged from the room, while Kurapika trailed behind him, the blush was still faintly there and her expression still furious.

"Since when there is a girl in your room, Danchou?" Phinks blinked several times as he looked at Kurapika. "And such a cute girl, too. Where did you find her?" He grinned from ear to ear, and Kurapika frowned at him in distaste.

"And where is the chain-guy? I thought you are stuck with him?" He added.

Kuroro raised an eyebrow and turned to Shalnark, who was already hiding behind Machi. The Nen-string user rolled her eyes and moved aside to expose the young man in black suit.

"You didn't tell them?" Kuroro asked in a rather curious tone.

"Tell what?" They all, except for Machi, asked Shalnark in unison. The said young man flinched.

"Shal, spill it out." Nobunaga had already unsheathed his sword, his veins on his temple throbbing.

"O—okay, okay!" Shalnark put up his hands in surrendering gesture. He glanced at Kurapika, who was looking away, and gulped. "Erh…She…She is actually the chain-user…" He explained in small voice.

There was three unbearably long seconds of momentary silence, before…

"SHE IS WHAT?"

* * *

Standing on heels, Kurapika was almost of the same height as Kuroro. However, on the contrary, she felt strangely small. She had never liked such social function, not even when she was still working as the Nostrad's bodyguard. This time it was even worse, because she participated as one of the guests.

"Still not used to this?" Kuroro asked her in a low voice with an amused grin plastered on his handsome face.

"I'll never get used to this." She answered with a scowl and in a begrudging manner. Kuroro seemed to enjoy himself, plus he seemed to enjoy her discomfort as well. Furthermore, there were three Spiders trailing behind her, pretending to be their bodyguards. The whole situation and environment she was in was enough to drive her nuts, and still he had the nerve to tease her about it.

"Learn to enjoy this kind of thing. We may need to do this for quite a few times in the future." He smiled at her, and she had no idea whether that smile was genuine or not. Anyway, she did not really care about it since she was feeling too self-conscious right then.

"Well, how about letting me enjoy myself as I grind your feet with my heels?" She growled at him, but kept her voice low so as not to startle anyone nearby with her hostility.

"I'm afraid I can't afford that." He smiled again at her, but he took her right hand in his left hand. "Come on, milady." He mocked a bow.

"Of course, milord." She replied with thick sarcasm and mocked a curtsey as well. They then took off into the ballroom, hand-in-hand.

Meanwhile, the three 'bodyguards' kept observing the duo as they kept bickering in their own style. Kuroro kept teasing her while she kept throwing sarcastic remarks to him. Phinks and Nobunaga kept glancing towards each other, still unused to the fact that the chain-user was actually a girl, and that their Danchou had been travelling with a girl all along. Shalnark, on the other hand, was enjoying the scene and was grinning silly to himself.

"Are they always like this?" Phinks whispered to Shalnark.

"I guess. They are getting along better than previously, I suppose." He answered cheerily.

"I still can't believe that the chain-bastard is really a girl." Nobunaga crossed his arm and his face really showed his dilemma.

"But she's a darn cute girl, I have to say." Phinks whistled casually as he looked at Kurapika once again.

"She suits Danchou, don't you think?" Shalnark thought out loud, but he earned a glare from Nobunaga.

"Don't even think of it." He growled unhappily.

"Someone's jealous here." Phinks grinned as he whispered at Shalnark, who nodded earnestly in response.

"Watch your mouth, you bloody bastards!" Nobunaga raised his voice and his hands were already on the hilt of his sword, but the other two hurriedly hushed him.

"Not so loud, Nobu! We do not want to raise any unnecessary attention here." Shalnark hissed.

"Tsk."

* * *

"That man over there," Kuroro pointed with a nod of his chin. "…will be your target for tonight."

"Don't say it in such way. It makes me feel like I'm some kind of…" Kurapika's voice trailed away, embarrassed even to finish the sentence.

"No one is saying that you are to sell your body to that old man." Kuroro shrugged, although a mischievous smirk was clear on his handsome face.

Kurapika dug her finger nails deep into Kuroro's flesh, as they were still walking hand-in-hand. Kuroro flinched a bit, but said nothing to complain. He kept his cool mask on his face.

"There is one thing that I've been wondering about." Kurapika said with small voice.

"Which is?"

"This 'temporary freedom'…How much freedom do we actually get? Is it only the separation factor, or the bind that ties our lives together dissipates temporarily as well?" She said with even voice, as if they were just some couple discussing about trivialities of life.

"Hmmm… Frankly speaking, I have no idea as well. It is certain that we are granted limitless separation for this one night, since we've tried it just now. As for the life-binding part, we haven't tried it yet."

The question had not popped in their heads before, when they were still in Chiron's forest. It was still questionable whether one would live if the other one died on that new moon night. Truthfully, there were still a lot of unanswered questions shrouding the so-called 'new moon freedom' they had just found out. They did not know if they were free from the physical distance factor only, or if they were free from the life-binding curse as well. They also did not know of what would happen if they were in a huge distance apart when the freedom expired.

Well..." Kuroro glanced at her with another evil smirk on his face. "We can always try to see what will happen, though."

"And risk everything in the process? No." Kurapika glared at him mildly. "At least, not this time. I don't want to die _before_ I have collected my comrades' eyes."

_Oh, an improvement._ Kuroro thought with gleeful satisfaction; but of why he was feeling so he did not even understand it himself.

" And…" She stopped.

"And?"

"No. Nothing." She muttered, suddenly unwilling to continue with their little discussion.

Kuroro raised an eyebrow at her, but asked nothing more. Weeks he had spent with that girl, and he knew better not to push on with questions when it was not an urgent issue. Kurapika could be a handful when she was upset, and he already had his hands full with all this Scarlet Eyes plan for the night.

Truthfully, Kurapika almost said that "I don't want to get into any compromising situation with you again," but decided against it. She felt that if she really told him of it, she would see no end of his teasing; and she had had enough of it. She cursed him inwardly, because she envied him since he seemed perfectly unaffected whenever they got into any embarrassing (at least for her part) situation. For examples, those embarrassing events in Fino's Prancing Pony Inn.

Besides; although she would never openly and consciously admitted it, she wanted to save more of her face in front of that man and his gang. Talk about public self-awareness…

* * *

The plan was actually fairly simple. They just needed to blend with the crowds, found the owner of the mansion, and then Kurapika had to try to occupy him with any means (preferably by flirting with him, but she had glared daggers at Kuroro when he mentioned this so he let her decided on the method herself) while Kuroro would sneak into the treasure room and stole the Scarlet Eyes. Nobunaga would go with Kuroro so as not to raise any suspicions, while Shalnark and Phinks would stay with Kurapika. After that, they would leave the place as soon as possible.

Things went out smoothly until the part where Kuroro excused himself for some business and left Kurapika to deal with the lord of the mansion. The lord; Lord Hubert, asked Kurapika to drink wine with him, and she complied. She drank along with him as they chatted about politics; something that Kurapika had endless resource about. Even Shalnark could barely keep up with what she was talking about, leave alone Phinks; and Lord Hubert seemed pleased with her knowledge. They drank endless glasses of wine, until Kurapika's face started to turn red like a lobster, and she started to giggle.

When Kurapika had started giggling, Phinks and Shalnark exchanged worried glances but still said nothing. As long as she could make the lord preoccupied, they would go along with the plan. Shalnark started glancing to his watch, wondering why it took Danchou so long to steal the Eyes. Phinks kept an observant eye to the Kuruta girl and listened to their conversation, in case the girl slipped out something important about the Spiders in her drunken state.

By the time Kuroro returned, Kurapika was already unable to stand up straight and she was forced to sit down on the couch with the lord. Lord Hubert himself seemed to have lost his awareness of the surroundings. His bodyguard stood close by, but his face showed a hint of worry towards his employer.

"What's happening here?" Kuroro asked in puzzlement when he saw Kurapika in such state.

"Well, she drank quite a lot with the old man…" Shalnark told him in small voice.

"She's drunk?"

Even surprised, Kuroro looked at the girl, who was already half-asleep and half-conscious. Nobunaga snorted behind him, but said nothing. Kuroro then approached Kurapika and peered into her eyes. True enough, her eyes were already unfocused and her face was the colour of a tomato.

"Kurapika?" He called her name, and she looked up with a silly grin on her face. She started smiling at him; a childish smile.

"Ah…You really came back to me." She slurred as she talked. Kuroro raised an eyebrow.

"You're drunk. Let's go back." He took her arm and pulled her into a standing position, but she staggered and almost fell back if Kuroro had not caught her by her waist. Kurapika then started giggling.

Kuroro had to sigh as the drunken girl had let him carry her weight in his arms; she had practically leaned against him and was drown in her giggling fit. Concluding that she was no longer capable of walking, he casually slipped one arm behind her knees and swept her from the floor, carrying her bridal style. His action, apparently, earned three different responses from his subjects.

Shalnark covered his mouth with his hand and his face was already flushed beetroot red. Phinks had his jaws gaping open, while Nobunaga went rigid as his eyes bulged; threatening to pop out of the sockets. While they had never seen Kuroro doing such thing, Kuroro himself was already used to doing it; he had been forced to carry her in such way in many occasions before in their journey.

"Lord Hubert, I shall take my leave since my companion does not seem to be in any condition to continue with the party." He politely excused himself from the lord of the mansion.

"Oh…Oh okay….Heheh…You may go…" He said with slurry voice, as he was starting to lose coherence in his speech due to the wine.

Kuroro had turned around and was about to walk away when the old lord called out to him. He half-turned around and looked at the drunken old man.

"Young man…You're lucky…It's not easy to get a fine lady such as yours…" He chuckled, and Kuroro almost thought that the old man was for once sober again. In the end, right after he said those lines, the old lord fell asleep in the couch.

The leader of the Genei Ryodan shrugged and he started walking towards the exit, out of the building. As they made their way to their temporary hideout; which was actually the hotel where Kuroro and Kurapika were staying in, Kuroro thought about the lord's whimsical comments.

_A fine lady?_ He mused as he glanced at Kurapika's face, who was sound asleep in his arms. _Perhaps she is, if only she is not so hell-bent in taking her revenge…_

* * *

"Danchou has changed."

Shalnark looked at the older samurai with quirked eyebrows. Nobunaga had asked him to talk with him privately, since he had something to discuss with him. Shalnark had no idea that the topic would be about Kuroro himself.

"What do you mean?"

"In the mansion, when we were going to steal the Eyes, I asked him…something…" Nobunaga looked away, as if he was unsure of himself whether to tell Shalnark the whole thing or not.

"What something?" Shalnark looked at him closely. "Tell me everything, Nobu. Otherwise I won't be able to help."

Nobunaga scratched the back of his head and finally sighed. He then told Shalnark of what had exactly happened back then.

They were walking in silence, Nobunaga slightly behind Kuroro just as how a bodyguard would be. Nobunaga kept glancing at Kuroro's back and looking away, his brows furrowed deep as something kept bugging him. Finally, he could not contain himself and he had had to ask him.

"Danchou."

"Yes?"

"Is it really okay to leave her alone? I mean…She can just attack Shalnark and Phinks and…you know…Considering that she is the chain-assassin after all…"

"She will stick with the plan and will not do something as foolish as that. That, I can assure you." Kuroro responded coolly.

"But she hates us! I mean…We should never trust her, do we? Besides, she's killed Uvo…" Nobunaga clenched his fists as he remembered the death of his best friend in Kurapika's hands.

"And we've killed her entire family." Kuroro replied, this time there was an edge in his voice. Nobunaga did not miss it, but still pushed on with his idea.

"But Danchou! She—"

"Nobu." Kuroro stopped and took a sharp turn on his heels to face Nobunaga. The samurai froze on his spot as Kuroro dealt a silent glare at him.

"I have been travelling constantly with her for these past few weeks. You can say all you want about her, but none of it will change my opinion of her."

With that, Kuroro spun around and continued walking in his previous pace, as if he had not shown the slight irritation to Nobunaga at all. He left the samurai gaping in surprise.

xXx

"Isn't it strange? Danchou trusts her!"

"Erh…Well…" Shalnark looked away and racked his brain to find some suitable explanation of the uncanny bond between Kuroro and Kurapika. Of course he would not be so surprised and shocked as Nobunaga had been if he was the one who saw Kuroro's reaction to Nobunaga's persistent distrust and suspicions towards Kurapika. After all, he had seen them in such close relationship; such as the one in the cave and the one in the room. Even Machi could feel a certain vibe resonating between them.

"I don't know if this will help you cope with the situation or not but…Kurapika did say something back then…" He looked at the still puzzled samurai with tentative eyes.

"Back then?"

"When she was dealing with the lord of the mansion."

xXx

"Hey…Where's your companion…?" The already tipsy lord asked Kurapika, whose face was already turning crimson.

"Companion? Oh…You mean _him_…" She said in husky voice.

Phinks and Shalnark had tensed up and looked at each other nervously. They then looked at Kurapika with wary eyes, readying themselves in case she slipped the fact that the _him_ was Kuroro Lucifer.

"Looks like…He has abandoned you…In that case, you can just…accompany me…I like you, you know?" He looked at Kurapika with admiration even in his slightly drunken state.

Suddenly, Kurapika laughed in a very pleasant manner. Her laughter rang like a bell to the Spiders' ears.

"Oh…He won't leave me behind…He'll come back to me…for sure…"

xXx

"She did say that?" His eyes were now bulging as they threatened to pop out their sockets.

"Yeah. You can ask Phinks about that. He even asked me about what they have been doing during their 'journey' together up until now." Shalnark shook his head in exasperation.

"Tell me, too!" Nobunaga hastily grabbed him by the front of his shirt and shook him vigorously, as if he was trying to literally shake the answer out of him.

"D—do—don't—sha—shake—m—me! A—I—don't even—know!" Shalnark said in staccato voice as he grabbed Nobunaga's wrists in attempt to free himself from the frenzied samurai.

"Tceh!" Nobunaga let go of him and paced around nervously.

"Relax, Nobu. At least we know that Danchou is not in any sort of danger, do we?" Shalnark said with a pout as he straightened up his shirt. Why had he always been the subject of abuse by everyone in the gang?

"But it is going to the wrong direction! How if they end up accepting each other?" He screamed in anxiety.

"I thought that's supposed to be a good thing?" The younger man asked with confusion written on his baby-face.

"IT DEFINITELY IS NOT! IT MEANS I WON'T BE ABLE TO AVENGE UVO!" Nobunaga yelled at Shalnark until the latter had to protect himself from the torrent of saliva.

"Why do you think so?"

"Because…I have this dreadful feeling…that if Danchou really accepts her, he will protect her from my revenge…"

_Well, I think he will definitely do that._ Shalnark thought, but he wisely kept that to himself for fear Nobunaga would change his mind and mutilate him instead of the chain-assassin.

* * *

"Aniki…" Kurapika spoke in her half-asleep state. She hugged him close with so much affection, that other people would really think they were lovers. Kuroro sighed. Earlier, in her hallucination, she had tackled him and they both landed on the floor, with her arms around his neck.

Kurapika pressed her face to his chest, a silly childish smile plastered on her face. Kuroro peered down at the girl, who was practically lying on top of him. Her face was red from the alcohol, but she definitely looked prettier when she smiled that way. Of the many weeks they had travelled together, Kurapika had never smiled at him; not even once if sarcastic smiles were not to be counted. The only times that she smiled were when she was drunk. Well, he could not blame her, though. He was, after all, her sworn-enemy; the one who had orphaned her, the one who had killed her entire tribe, the one she hated with all her soul. She had no reason to smile at him.

"Aniki…" The girl mumbled again.

Kuroro looked at her and reached out with his hand. He patted her head gently, and she giggled softly, like a little child. Kuroro raised one perfect eyebrow. Under normal circumstances, she would have swatted his hand away, glared daggers at him, or hurled some sarcastic remarks at him. Truthfully, the only time that he could touch her without earning any glares from the girl was when she was drunk. He ruffled her hair; which was silken and soft in his touch. Kurapika sighed contently, like a cat being patted, and she looked up at him. He stopped, fearing that she might have come to her senses and realised the dreadful situation she had gotten herself into.

It never happened, though. Instead, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek; softly and affectionately. Kuroro froze, his entire body went rigid. Of his 27 years of life, no women had ever done so to him. Well, he did not give them the chance to do so, anyway, but this time he was completely caught off guard. Kurapika lifted her head and peered into his dark eyes; her blue eyes rather unfocused because of the alcohol. He did not fail to catch, however, the sad glint in those aquamarine eyes.

"Aniki…I'm lost…" She whispered to him. "What am I supposed to do now…?"

Kuroro frowned at her statement. It was unlike her to lose sight of her goal. He had always thought that her goal had been straight forward and impossible to forget. Why was she saying such statements, as if implying that she was losing focus on her tasks?

"Am I…doing the right thing…? Tell me, Aniki…"

The older man let the young girl drowned in her own soliloquy, while he listened to her silently. Kurapika finally fell asleep on top of him, and with a sigh, Kuroro got up and deposited her on the bed. He sat on his own bed and thought about Kurapika's ramblings.

Self-doubts, that was what she was having right then. Without anybody for her counsel, she could only rely on her own knowledge and conscience. It was only normal for someone her age to have self-doubts, to lose sight of her life, to be confused about her own self. Kuroro, however, could not relate to it. He had always been clear on what he wanted and how he was going to do things. His education and upbringings had been strict and thorough, so he had not had the time to doubt his own self. Growing up in Ryuusei-gai, self-reliance and independence what was he learned in his childhood. Then again, he was a premature adult; that was what Ishtar had always told him.

"I can't help you." He absentmindedly told the sleeping girl. "You will have to find the answer on your own."

Remembering that it was a rare chance that they were not bound by the genie's magic, Kuroro decided to take his sweet time indulging himself in a hot bath. In his bath, he could not help but to let his mind ponder about what Kurapika had muttered in her drunken state.

_Am I doing the right thing?_

Kuroro snorted. Sometime, he thought that the girl's heightened moral conscience was all too much. Then again, it might be that he was the one who was lacking it. Suddenly, a question popped in his head.

_Why are you doing what you are doing now? Why?_

Questions beginning with 'why' was his weakness. He had never tried to put his reasons into words. Everything he did was only based on what he wanted, and what was best for his group. It was rarely driven by any tangible reason. He had never really put any much thought on his actions and decisions, except considerations regarding the best interest for the Genei Ryodan. He did not really care about the consequences of his decisions to other people unrelated to him.

"I guess you are right, Kurapika. I am a selfish person." He mused. Hatsubaba had told him about her opinion of him. He had not been surprised by her very negative opinion about himself. He had never cared much about other people's opinion regarding him. They could talk about him all they wanted, he could not care less.

Then again, that just showed how selfish he was.

* * *

When she woke up, the first thing that greeted her was not the warm sunlight, but a really nasty headache. She groaned in pain and rolled over in bed, clutching her head while pressing her eyes tightly closed. Kurapika then realised that she could not move freely, as if her clothes were restricting her. Also, her hair and face felt strangely out of place. When she could not take it anymore, she decided to get up and check what was wrong with her.

"Ooh…" As soon as she got up, her head was assaulted by the worst dizziness she ever experienced. She leaned forward and clutched the bed sheet, while the other hand massaged her temples to help her rid of the throbbing sensation.

"Hangover?" An all-too familiar voice spoke next to her.

Kurapika turned around and saw Kuroro sitting on the bed close to her own bed, he was wearing a comfortable looking shirt. It seemed that he had just gotten up well. When he saw her confused expression, he pointed at her clothing. Kurapika warily looked down, and how she was so surprised to see herself still in the dress she had supposedly worn for the party last night.

"What? Why? How?" She blinked, not understanding how and why she had fallen asleep still in the dress.

"You drank too much." He shrugged, as if it was no big deal.

"I was drunk?" She said, sounding horrified. "Did I do or say anything stupid?"

"During the party, no you didn't." Kuroro hid a smirk, but Kurapika noticed something from his choice of words.

"During the party…Then, after the party…?" She dreaded hearing the answer, but she had to know.

"You rambled incoherently. But again, you mistook me as your brother."

"No freaking way…" Kurapika covered her face with her hands and she bent down, as if she was mourning. Kuroro let her wail silently, before she looked up again. "What did I do this time?"

"You don't want to know." He simply said. "It was just a moment of insanity."

"WHAT? What do you mean by that? You don't mean I—" She seemed to choke on the last word.

"What do you think you did, then?" He asked back, a gleeful smile on his usually poker face.

"I—Stop fooling around!" She screamed at him, her face was already flushing mad.

"It was nothing big, really." He was close to laughing out loud, then.

"If it was, then tell me!" She continued yelling.

"You hugged me, and…"

Kurapika already cringed when he answered her, but when he paused, she looked at him with pure terror. "…and?"

"You kissed me…"

"NO WAY!" Her face looked as if it was on fire.

"…on the cheek."

A pillow flew and kissed Kuroro's face.

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: The ending is a bit weird, huh? Hehehe…Anyway, I've always wanted to make Kurapika somewhat drunk and mistaken Kuroro as her brother yet again. I'm such a bad person (evil grin). And the last part of Kuroro teasing Kurapika, a bit off the character but I guess that's what we can call "progress" in terms of their relationship, no? Hmhm… And quite a bit of part of Kuroro's self-introspection there._

_**Next**__: After the Scarlet Eyes business, they proceeded with their initial plan of visiting this Lady in Red. They did reach the place safely with the Unicorn's help, however what awaited them was no ordinary host, with extraordinary personality and power. _


	13. Chapter 13: Looking Back 1 Crimson Sky

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter_

_**Story so far**__: After their small 'procrastination and digression', they were back to their original track to visit a certain Lady in Red. With luck, they managed to reach the place. However, they found themselves encountering just another mythical creature with the intent to dig out their most unpleasant side: their pasts._

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**_LOOKING BACK part 1 - CRIMSON SKY_**

* * *

"Today will be the first day of the fourth week since we got out of Chiron's forest, and we have been walking non-stop, yet we have not reached the place yet?" Kurapika mumbled as she stuffed her thin blanket into her backpack.

"Don't ask me. The only guide we have is that Unicorn foal, and all we can do for the time being is just to follow her around." Kuroro shrugged as he did the same.

The moment they got out of the enchanted forest, they realized that they emerged in a forest that they were totally unfamiliar about. It was just possible that they ended up in the other side of the globe, all things about magical creatures considered. After all, the Harpy had not given them time to observe their surroundings as they were whisked away to Chiron's forest. They walked for one week, before Kurapika was assaulted by her monthly menstrual period and thus they had to stop for a week or so in a city, and then afterwards they had been walking nonstop for yet another week.

"We should name her. It's pretty inconvenient to keep calling her 'Unicorn foal'." Kurapika said as she stroked her silvery mane. The foal nuzzled her hand gently.

"That'll be your job." Kuroro said offhandedly as he slung his backpack over his shoulder.

Kurapika shot him a hostile glare, but said nothing in return. As they traversed the forest, with the Unicorn slightly in front as their guide, Kurapika mulled over it. Somehow, she could not think of a name for the Unicorn foal. It was as if her mind was blocked. After a while, she was about to give up when suddenly she heard a voice.

_Una…_

"Huh? Did you say something?" Kurapika's head looked up and glanced to Kuroro.

Kuroro regarded her with a slightly surprised look. He raised an eyebrow, yet he kept his walking pace undisturbed.

"I thought that was you." He said back.

_Una…Me…_

In unison, both averted their gaze to the Unicorn foal, who had stopped and twisted her neck to gaze back to them with her beady eyes. She then nudged Kurapika's cheek lightly with her nose.

"It was you." She exclaimed as she patted the Unicorn's head. "So Una is your name?"

Again, the Unicorn nuzzled her nose against Kurapika's palm and breathed out softly, as if approving her assumption. Kuroro looked at the unicorn with newfound interest.

"Then why didn't you tell us earlier?" Kurapika asked with slight purr in her voice as she patted the magical horse lovingly.

"I guess that's because she is still a foal, after all. She is barely a toddler, in human terms." Kuroro suggested. "She can barely string words together into sentences."

Kurapika did not respond to Kuroro's hypothesis, and she merely gazed at the white horse with admiration. She was so young yet she had dared to venture the world to accompany them. That was very brave of her. It made Kurapika pondered about the foal's family. Why had she not seen her folks back then in Chiron's forest?

"Speaking of which, we might as well try our luck."

Kurapika looked up and gave him a confused look.

"Una, can you tell us how far more is the Lady in Red's place?" Kuroro took one step and looked at the foal directly in the eyes. He could only hope that the foal could construct coherent sentence, since she appeared to understand human's speech already.

_Not far…_She said telepathically.

"So it's already close?" Kurapika asked with her hope high.

_Not close…_Una replied again, her answer contradictory.

"What?" Kurapika's shoulder visibly sagged. "So which is it?"

"Both. Not too far, yet not too close. Which means, we should just keep walking and we'll probably reach our destination by today." The older man shrugged casually, as if he had no care of the world.

"Very helpful." She said sarcastically; which Kuroro ignored. He was already used to her constant sardonic comments.

"And very confident of you." Kurapika narrowed her eyes to him with slight pout; which Kuroro responded with a smirk.

It took her aback slightly, since she actually rarely saw him smirking in such _playful_ manner. He would usually be cool, or evilly mischievous, or smug, but not _playful_. For a split second, she was so shocked she felt rooted to the ground. Kuroro turned around and resumed walking, dragging her along with the ever-present bind between them. Sure, the bind had significantly expanded by a large extent, and Kurapika just could not turn a blind eye on it. Still, she would prefer not to bring up the subject, if possible. It would just make situation more awkward; and she had had enough of being in many embarrassing and awkward situation with the Spider Head.

* * *

"Is that the place, Una?" Kurapika stroke the mane of the Unicorn foal as she overlooked the solitary isle floating not too far away to the ocean.

"We've found the place, but the problem now is how do we get there? It's entirely off the shore, and there is no transportation to get there." Kuroro stepped forward and stood at the edge of the cliff where they were standing and scanned the surrounding.

There were no towns or any signs of civilization nearby, and fishermen were unlikely to be there, since the shore was rather rocky. Swimming all the way to the isle was close to impossible, if not suicidal. Kuroro could not use his Teleportation ability since the skill required him to be in the destination place at least once before. He could not teleport to an entirely new place. One way to cross the ocean to get there was to fly, but none of them had such ability. If the harpy from before was there to transport them all the way there, it would not be much of a problem. It was unfortunate that it was a Unicorn that went with them, not a Pegasus.

_Ride Una…_ The foal suddenly told Kurapika as she nudged her with her nose. _Una walk on water…_

"Ride you? Can you do it? You are still a foal."

"It should be okay, considering that you are small. She is no ordinary foal, after all." Kuroro shrugged. "However, the problem is only you can ride her."

"Why?" Kurapika blinked.

"It's considered sacrilege for men to ride a Unicorn." Kuroro said with flat tone, as if disinterested.

Una approached Kuroro and then nudged his shoulder gently. _Ride me…_ She said again, this time to Kuroro. Kuroro turned to her and stroked her mane, but he had a hard expression on his face.

"You'll be ostracized by your kind." He stated, as if reminding her. Kurapika looked on as she observed the pair.

_Folks abandon Una…Una alone…_ She said sadly as she leaned her head towards Kuroro, enjoying his attention.

Kurapika twitched when she heard it. Somehow, she felt bad for the horse, and angry at her people. Why did they abandon her? Such innocent, pretty thing. However, when the horse said that she was alone, Kurapika's heart especially throbbed. It felt as if her heart was pinched; she was reminded of her time travelling alone from Rukuso Mountain. That time, she felt alone in the world.

"That's why you are coming along with us?" Kuroro asked again.

_Una goes with you…Una helps you…_ She shifted so that Kuroro was facing her flank; signaling that she was ready for him to mount her. She had no care if her people would ostracize her or not; they already abandoned her. Kuroro stared at her for a while, before he patted the horse on her back lightly, and then with a jump he sat on the back of the horse. When Kuroro mounted her, she did not flinch or twitch; as if Kuroro was never on her back, as if he had no weight.

"Come on." Kuroro gestured at Kurapika to hop on behind him.

"Will she be alright? I mean, if two people are riding her…" Kurapika looked at the foal hesitantly. Kuroro rolled his eyes in exasperation.

_Una strong…Una can carry Kuroro and __Kurapika…_

"Hey, she remembers our names." Kurapika said with wide eyes.

"Hurry up, kid." Kuroro said, his tone mocking.

"I'm not a kid!" With a scowl, Kurapika mounted Una and sat behind Kuroro.

"Then act accordingly." Kuroro said with a soft snort, still mocking her.

Suddenly, without prior warning whatsoever, Una started to trot towards the rocky sea. Startled, Kurapika yelped and instinctively grabbed on to whatever was in the vicinity of her arms; Kuroro's waist. When she suddenly clung to him like there was no tomorrow, Kuroro stiffened but said nothing. He held on to Una's mane, careful not to grab the silvery strands too strongly lest he accidentally hurt her. And so they began their Unicorn-riding towards the floating isle off the rocky shore.

* * *

Kurapika threw a quick glance across her shoulder. She could see the rocky shore not far away; and now they were Unicorn-riding in the middle of a small gulf between the isle and the shore. She noticed that there were rippled of water whenever Una stepped on the water surface, but she knew that the Unicorn did not touch the water surface; she floated above it. Without much difficulty or any other problems, they reached the isle dry and safe. Both hurriedly dismounted from the Unicorn as soon as they reached dry ground.

Right before them was a cave; and from the looks of it, an underwater cave. The path from the mouth of the cave was winding down, and it was almost pitch-black there. There was no sound of wind blowing from the cave, and so the cave was a dead end.

"So down we go, huh?" Kurapika muttered in low voice.

"What else?" The older man shrugged.

_Una guides you…_ The Unicorn foal stepped forward and entered the cave. As soon as she was swallowed by the darkness of the forest, suddenly her horn glowed like an ember torch. It provided them adequate light for their footing so that they would not trip. So the trio advanced down the rocky terrain, down into the belly of the cave.

For several minutes they continued to traverse the straight, down, yet rocky path. Una did not seem to have any trouble walking down the slope. After some minutes or so, they saw a light at the end of the cold, dark tunnel.

"I have been waiting for you." A velvety, smooth voice of a woman greeted them. Kuroro flinched ever so slightly. The voice reminded him of Ishtar herself.

When they finally emerged into a spacious room at the end of the tunnel, they were faced with a woman with extraordinary appearance. She had piercing golden eyes, and her hair was the colour of flame and gold. Her garbs were silk and satin with the colour of deep translucent red and glitters of gold. On her head was a gold circlet with a single ruby stone with an outrageously huge feather sitting on it on her forehead. The feather seemed to glitter like pixie dusts; its red was subtle like a kindling fire. She was sitting on a couch covered in red satin.

"A Phoenix." Kuroro muttered as soon as he laid his eyes on her. He could not be mistaken on it. The Lady in Red, yes he should have suspected as much.

"That is what I am. Now come here, kids. I've heard from Chiron and Ishtar of your circumstances." She motioned at them to come closer.

Only Una came to approach her. The Phoenix then cooed when she saw her and patted her silver mane gently.

"Ooh, what a pretty little thing you are. And such a pretty name you have too. Una, is it?" She looked at the Unicorn foal with loving eyes. The Unicorn licked her hand once, appreciating her attention towards her.

"Are you going to help us with it?" Kurapika asked with slight suspicions.

"What else am I going to do? My good old friends sent you to me after telling me all of those stuffs. Of course I can't reject them. 'Sides, you've come all the way here from that old ass' forest."

Kurapika looked at Kuroro, and so did he. They were thinking the same thing: considering that they were old friends, their ways of talking were sure very different. While Ishtar was polite and formal, Chiron was archaic, and this Phoenix was quite a modern and funky one.

"Regardless of all those…" She looked at them with now very interested eyes. "I am quite curious about it myself."

Pride aside, Kurapika would have backed away when the Phoenix looked at her in such fashion. It gave her goose bumps. She looked like she was going to have a fun on her expense.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come closer, I don't bite."

None of them made a move, and so the Phoenix sighed.

"Fine if you don't want to come closer. Big deal." She rolled her eyes. "I can do it from here, anyway." She shrugged nonchalantly.

All of the sudden, fire spread from where the Lady in Red was sitting. Out of instinct and reflex, both tried to avoid the fire but they were too slow. Or rather, the fire was moving way too fast. In no time the flames were already all over them, licking their clothes and skin. Panicked, Kurapika tried to put off the flame but Kuroro stopped her.

"Don't worry, a Phoenix's flame doesn't burn." He told her with his grip tight around her arm. "…unless you are not a virgin, that is." He said as he looked away.

Kurapika could feel her face burning from the embarrassment. Why did the man have to say such thing just at such critical moment?

"As expected from Isthar's dearest 'son'." She grinned, ignoring Kuroro's subtle glare. "Well then, shall we proceed?"

"Where?" Kuroro asked from amidst the roaring flame.

"To the virtual space that is my world." She smiled at them with her characteristic amused grin. "To the cinematic record of your pasts."

Before they could utter a single syllable to express their surprise and profound protests, the flames swallowed them whole and they were sent into the abysmal depths of endless darkness. Kuroro was still holding Kurapika's arm as they were free-falling in the darkness.

"The past…is worth to learn."

And both of them were swept into total oblivion.

* * *

When he came to his sense, he was already alone in darkness. He was not holding Kurapika's arm anymore, she was nowhere to be found. He had no sense of up and down, left and right. He was just…floating in the darkness. Lost on what to do, Kuroro waited. He was a careful man, and so he would wait and see of what would happen. From her words, the Phoenix meant no harm to them. Suddenly, the corner of his eyes caught a flickering light. He turned around and saw a dot of light from distant away. Well, he had no idea whether the light was far away or whether it was really so small he thought it was far away. In any case, suddenly the light grew brighter and larger in size, and he was soon overwhelmed by it. Out of reflex, Kuroro covered his eyes with his hands. When he felt that the light had dimmed out, he pried open his dark eyes carefully, and found that he had landed in an entirely unfamiliar, down-to-Earth, place. He was in a forest.

"Aniki! Aniki, where are you?"

Kuroro heard the voice of a little girl. He spun around in alert, yet he had half-anticipated on what he would see. True enough, he saw a little girl; blonde, aquamarine-eyed and barely 13 years-old, stumbling from the bushes near him. He had prepared himself to see a younger version of Kurapika, but still he was not prepared to see such a small, cute, little girl. She looked exactly like a doll; and even Kuroro Lucifer could not deny it.

"Aniki!" The girl continued to scream as she searched around the bushes for her older brother.

"Over here, Kairi." Another voice; clearly a male yet there was still childishness in it, was heard from behind one of the bushes.

Kuroro thought he misheard it, but he knew that his hearing was still perfect. Just when he thought that he was seeing Kurapika in her childhood, the little girl had different name. Kairi. Was she a different child or…Was it as he suspected?

A figure emerged from behind one of the bushes. Kuroro turned around and looked at that particular figure. He rarely showed it when he was surprised or taken aback; a raised brow was the most he would do. However, he knew not whether it was because he knew that he was alone there, but he visibly showed a surprised expression when he saw an exact duplicate of Kurapika; the present Kurapika; _his_ Kurapika.

_Just as I thought__…_He mused silently. _A twin brother, about 5 years older than her…And her real name is really Kairi, not Kurapika._

"Kairi, you are skipping classes again, aren't you? You are supposed to be in class right now!" The boy version of Kurapika; the one Kuroro was accustomed to when Kurapika was still disguising herself as a boy, held his arms akimbo and towered over the little girl, trying to look as intimidating as possible.

"But the classes are booooooring, I can die out of boredom." The girl pouted and put her hands behind her head, clearly not intimidated by her older brother. She knew her brother all too well to be scared by him.

"You think you are so smart, eh? Thinking you already know whatever they are teaching in classes." The older brother narrowed his eyes.

"But you teach more than they do in classes. I know you skipped classes, too, when you were my age! Father and Mother told me so! They said: 'Don't be like your brother, he always skipped classes and wandered in the woods, doing only-God-may-know stuffs.' There. You learn more in outside than in classes, don't you? So do I."

Kuroro snorted in amusement. She said all those with her arms across her chest and her head held up high, challenging her brother. That was so like her. The older brother, however, massaged the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. He stared at his little sister and eventually shook his head with another heavy sigh.

"What are you sighing for? You are just like a bitter old man, Grandfather Kurapika." The little girl grinned from ear to ear at her brother; the real Kurapika.

"Oh, be quiet, Kairi. Or I won't be teaching you anything today." He threatened her, and this time it worked.

"Don't be upset, Aniki. You are the best!" She quickly clung to his neck and kissed him on the cheek. Kuroro went frigid for a split second; that was exactly what she did to him when she was in her drunken stupor. "Come on, come on, let's get going."

"Before they catch you, right?" The older boy smirked at her, but nonetheless took her arms and took off into the depths of the woods, taking the little girl with him.

Suddenly, everything went into a static and the air hummed softly. It was as if the molecules in the air vibrated. Kuroro could feel the time and space being distorted, and when everything settled down and the humming and vibrations had stopped, he was in another part of the woods.

"Kairi, I got a present for you."

Kuroro turned around and saw the two again. They were lying on the grass on a slope facing the ocean. The weather was warm and the sunlight was not too scorching hot. It was a perfect day to be a complete lazy bum.

"Really? What present?" She got up and beamed at her twin brother with her big blue eyes. It was an expression that Kuroro would never see in his lifetime.

"This." The boy fished something out of his pocket; something shiny and small. He squeezed it into his sister's hand and gave her a silly grin. She opened her palm and stared at the object on her palm. It was an earring; no, it was THE earring. Kuroro's eyes widened ever so slightly. It was the earring that _his_ Kurapika treasured so much, and at the same time it was the one that magically disguised her as a boy for a long time.

_So it was from her brother. The last memento…_

"I know you don't like girly stuffs and all, but I still think you need at least an earring. So I got you the simplest and plain-looking one." The boy scratched the back of his head, rather embarrassed.

"Why only one? I thought earrings are supposed to be in a pair?" The girl lifted up the earring and held it against the sunlight. It glittered slightly as the light played its trick on the glassy surface.

"Because that one is magical; the only one of its kind. So don't lose it, okay?"

She said nothing, but instead she lunged at him and tackled him down. She hugged him to the point of suffocation.

"—can't—breathe—" He patted her shoulder to signal that she'd better stop chocking him to his death.

"Thank you, Aniki." She whispered as she loosened her iron embrace around his neck. "I love you."

The boy patted her golden crown of head; the one identical to his. On his face was a tender smile only meant for the beloved. "Same here."

Kuroro's face darkened as he watched the lovey-dovey scene before him; although he did not notice the change. It was something entirely alien to him, and he was growing uneasy to see it. Somehow, he had a bad feeling about this entire thing; about looking at _his_ Kurapika's past. Whatever the Phoenix was plotting, it couldn't be that beneficial for him.

Suddenly, the disturbance in the air came again, and _again_, he ended up in another part of the same forest. He looked around, and in no time saw the two huddling up behind the bushes; the brother was teaching the sister about plants and trees, and some insects, it seemed. Kuroro glanced around. Even when he was not from there and he was not even a real thing in that virtual past that the Phoenix made, he could feel that the air in the forest was somewhat stall, and there was a bad premonition about it.

Just all of the sudden, as Kuroro had somewhat anticipated, a ruckus could be heard from not far away. Out of curiosity on the girl's part and alertness on the boy's part, the two of them got up and went towards the main road. Kuroro followed behind them, intrigued on what was going on. Along the main road, a throng of people were stampeding down the road towards the shore, where their so-called harbour was.

"Kurapika? Kairi? Thank goodness you are here. Hurry up and run!" An middle-aged lady spotted them and good-naturedly approached them.

"Auntie, what happened? Why is everyone running away from the village with such haste?" The boy looked on to the commotion with slight fear. Whatever was happening, it was definitely disastrous. For Kurutan people to be running away like that; them, the proud warriors of the Rukuso Mountain, to run away like frightened rabbits. There had to be something in the village. He had to check it out himself.

"I…" The lady spotted young sister standing not too far away. Thinking of sparing the little girl from the bad news, she whispered to the boy in low voice. "The village is attacked by a group of people. They are inhumanely strong, even the fighters are having hard time with them. What's more, it seems that they are after our Scarlet Eyes."

_Us…_Kuroro thought, his dark eyes glinted eerily.

In that instant, the boy's eyes turned ablaze and he turned to glare to the direction of the village. His shoulder bristled from contained anger, but he dared not to turn to face his little sister, who was still blissfully unaware on what was going on.

"Are…Father and Mother fighting, too?" He asked in a voice less that a whisper.

"Ah…Yes, of course…" The lady answered hesitantly.

"Auntie, please take care of Kairi for me. I'm going to help them."

"Kurapika, that'll be suicide! KURAPIKA!" Before the lady could grab the boy's arm from preventing him from dashing head-on to his death, he already disappeared behind the bushes, taking shortcuts towards the village.

"Auntie, where is Aniki going? Why is everyone running? Should I go after him?" The girl, panicked and lost, clutched the lady's skirt and scanned her surrounding with her blue eyes.

"No, Kairi, you are coming with me."

Before she could slip away like her brother did, the lady grabbed her wrists and dragged her along, although the girl was the most reluctant to do so. Kuroro followed the rag-tag groups of people running for their lives towards the ocean, but he spared a glance towards the direction of the village where the boy had run off to. He remembered that boy, alright.

* * *

He sat on the dry rock, waiting for the thoroughly soaked and unconscious girl to wake up. He looked up and saw that the grey sky was still tinted reddish from the earlier fire that had burned down the whole village. It was not like his group set it up; it just happened during the chaos, when everyone was busy fighting and in the process knocking everything down; which eventually resulted in fire.

Kuroro looked at the still girl. Earlier on, the girl had been forced to board the boat taking off to the ocean to escape the massacre. She had fought them, insisting that she wanted to wait for her brother. They assured her that the next group would be following them and her brother would definitely be there, so she consented for the time being. However, she was completely uncontrollable when she saw the crimson sky hovering above the village. Immediately, the oceanic blue hue of her eyes was overlapped by the reflection of the deep red colour of the burning sky. It gave off an unnerving effect, yet Kuroro could not deny that it was a very beautiful hue. He had never seen such colour before.

She had then thrown herself into the water and swam her way towards the shore. Unfortunately for her, she was just way too small to withstand the strong current, and so she was swept away and in the process, she passed out. The current washed her towards the shore, and so Kuroro had to wait for her to come around, before he could move on. Well, he could wait. Kuroro Lucifer was a patient man, after all.

Just as he leaned against the rock behind him, the girl stirred. Kuroro raised an eyebrow. Wherever and whenever, the girl would always do anything just to spite him, didn't she? Just when he was about to relax, she had to wake up.

"…A…niki…" She muttered.

Slowly, but surely, she got up and shook her head to clear up her mind. She looked up to the sky, and when she saw the ashen crimson sky, her eyes widened to their maximum size. Briskly she got up and tried to run up the hill towards the village. At first she swaggered and hobbled, but as she moved on, her strength returned and she started to dash towards the village. But when she arrived there, all was too late.

Everyone was already reduced to eyeless, and some headless, corpses. The sockets of their eyes were gaping in void, looking into the space while telling the horror they had just experienced. Her knees gave in and she collapsed to the ground. Her throat turned dry and she could not utter a single syllable. Kuroro sauntered towards her, and he casually scanned the surrounding. Yes, it was exactly as how remembered it to be. The massacre of the Kuruta tribe for the sake of their priced Scarlet Eyes; it was exactly it. He could even recognise the marks that his Spiders had left behind; the depression on the floor was Uvogin's trademark, the bullet wounds would be Pakunoda's. Seeing all those made him feel weird; it almost felt…nostalgic. He averted his attention back to the girl who owned this past. She was still on the ground, her strength sapped from her small body.

"The village…Everyone…" She muttered, finally.

Her hips still had not regained the required strength, so she had to crawl her way among the corpses. She flinched every time her gaze fell on one of those people. She recognised them in an instant, despite them losing their eyes. A couple of time she threw up, her guts unable to withstand the terror that the place was cradling. Then, finally she found what she was looking for.

"…Aniki…"

There, in the midst of a relatively clean ground, was one particular headless corpse. The tribal clothes were clean and unstained, although there were some rips here and there. Kuroro narrowed his eyes. Yes, of course he remembered. He wondered how he could forget when he looked at Kurapika's face for the first time back then in Yorkshin City. He should have recalled that face. After all, he was the one who murdered the boy who legitimately owned the name 'Kurapika'.

"ANIKIIII!"

With a sprung of her feet, she leaped towards her brother's corpse and wailed like a wounded animal. She put her heads on his chest; the heartbeats were now absent, and clutched his clothes with her trembling hands. She wailed and sobbed, paying attention to nothing else but her loss and grieve. Kuroro watched on as he stood behind her. He remembered, back then he was standing right over there, observing his subjects as they had their 'fun'. Just out of the blue, the blond boy charged at him. He remembered gazing into those Scarlet Eyes, the most beautiful ones by far at that time. He had craved for those eyes, and when he looked at his pretty face, suddenly he felt that it would be too bad if the eyes had to be separated from that face; it suited the eyes perfectly.

"Not you…Not you…" She continued to sob. "What…am I going to do…without…you?" She muttered. "You idiot…"

Kuroro sighed. _What a cliché…_

"Kai…ri…?"

His eyes widened. He thought he heard a voice; a full-grown man's voice. He had told his Spiders at that time to make sure that they killed everyone.

"Kairi…Is that really you?"

The voice was getting stronger, like the voice of someone who had just found a ray of hope in the deepest pit of darkness. She was instantly broken from her crying fit and looked around for the source of that voice. She then spotted a body twitching not too far away, sheltered under the shade of the fallen roof. Quickly she scrambled towards that body, and moved away the debris. A muscular man, nearing Uvogin's size, was found half-dead there. He was literally bathed in his own blood, but he still clung on to life.

_What a tough man…_Kuroro mused.

"Master Senso! You are alive!" She hugged him carefully, so as not to aggravate his wounds.

"I won't last long, Kairi... My death is coming to fetch me…It's inevitable…" He breathed out a painful breath, and turned to take a better look at the little girl. She was ghastly pale and sickly. "I'm so glad…to see you alive…You are my best student, Kairi…"

"No, Aniki is…" She paused, and then ducked her head. "…was your best student."

"Ah…" If his eyes were still there, Senso would have narrowed his eyes and great loss would have coloured his eyes. "I see…"

Suddenly, he was attacked by a coughing fit and blood spurted from his mouth.

"Master Senso!"

"Kairi—!" He said with ragged breath. It was a tell-tale that he was going to die soon. "Survive and live on…Don't waste your life for revenge…Don't go…after the Spiders…"

"S—spiders?"

_Ah, so he was the one who lived to tell her…_Kuroro nodded in satisfaction. He had been curious about it for a long time already.

"Live on, Kairi…Preserve our proud Kuruta blood…"

And then, the man breathed his last.

* * *

The girl looked on to the graves that she had painstakingly made for her fallen comrades. Her hands were calloused, there were bruises covering her arms and legs as she kept stumbling when she dragged those heavy bodies. Her eyes were still moist and swollen from the ceaseless crying during the whole process of collecting bodies and burying them. She felt like her tears had all dried up. She clutched her sling-bag and gritted her jaws with determination.

Kuroro stood behind her, watching as she tried to collect herself to prepare for the coming journey. The girl had donned her magical earring from her brother, and had assumed her boy persona; the Kurapika that Kuroro had always known. No, she was taking her brother's persona. She was living as him now, therefore she assumed his name as well.

Kurapika stood overlooking the destroyed village and the graves. His face was grim and lifeless. The only emotion there was vengeful determination.

"My name is Kurapika Kuruta. I am going to search for the eyes of my comrades, and to revenge them. I will track them down and kill every single one of those Spiders, even if it costs my life." He muttered in flat voice, as if rehearsing a memorised line.

He murmured it a few times, as if reassuring and convincing himself. Then, he turned around and walked down his path of vendetta without looking back.

And then, time stopped.

"You have always wondered what her source of strength is, haven't you?"

The voice crept its way to his ears, it was velvety and smooth, like the flow of calm water. Suddenly, he could feel her presence, right behind him. Heck, he could even feel her ever-amused golden eyes boring at the back of his head, and her ever-upturned lips grinning at him. He refused to face her.

"Do you want the answer?"

He spared her a sideways glance. Just as he turned his head, darkness swept over and once again he was engulfed in infinite blackness. Kuroro looked around in alert, but remembering that there was nothing he could do in her world, he relaxed. What would happen would simply happen. He would just wait and see.

"She began her journey with her head held high, bearing the pride of a Kuruta; as the last Kuruta alive. And now…"

The Lady in Red swept her robe to her front to reveal something behind her.

"…look at the reality."

On the ground; or what seemed to be the ground in that endless darkness, was Kurapika. She clutched her head as if afraid that the sky would fall on her. Her shoulders were trembling uncontrollably, followed by her sobs. She whimpered incoherently, and her body was curled into a tight, frail ball. It reminded him of the incident in the cave, when she beat him up and openly cried before him. This time, however, she looked more broken than ever.

"Despair was her motivation, and hatred was her fuel. Both, however…"

Kuroro heard the rattling sound of chains, dragging and slithering around him. Lately, every single time he heard the rattling of chains, the first thing that popped into his mind was Kurapika. When he looked, Kurapika was already surrounded and bound by the chains; they were all over her. She seemed oblivious of it, though.

"…they also become the manacles that tie her down. It starts from you…"

Suddenly he felt a cold touch in his left hand; the hand that he used to steal people's lives. When he looked down, he saw his hand holding a metal chain.

"…and it ends up…"

He could feel then a cold, piercing touch of the tip of a blade on his nape. It just touched him, but he could feel its sharpness. Even without him looking at him, he knew that it was the blade of the Judgment Chain.

"…at you again."

"And so what is the point in all these?" He asked coolly and emotionlessly, sporting a boring look on his poker face.

The Phoenix looked at him straight in the eyes. There was a cold, reproaching gleam in her feral eyes. Even Kuroro Lucifer had to shudder when he was graced with that kind of eyes by one of the most renowned mythical creatures.

"As long as you live, Kuroro Lucifer, she believes that this burden will never disappear. So it's up to you whether you will free her of the chains that bind her or not."

"You are telling me that I am responsible for what has become of her? Don't be ludicrous. That is the path that she has chosen on her own accord." He replied with eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.

"Don't worry, you will want to free her." She gave him the most cunning smile she could ever muster. Kuroro did not even have a chance to retaliate, when suddenly she touched his marked forehead with the tip of her index finger. "Now, off you go. Your turn is next."

Suddenly, he was helplessly thrown into an even deeper pit of darkness, where he could not even feel or see or sense his own body.

* * *

"How long are you going to lie down there and cry yourself silly? You are not a baby anymore." She said with her tone firm yet gentle.

Kurapika did not answer her. She did not even twitch when the Lady in Red called her. It was as if her soul had left her body, and she was just an empty shell. The Phoenix sighed and approached her silently. There was not a single footsteps in the infinite darkness; a space that she created with her power, as if they were in the outer space, void and airless. The Phoenix squatted in front of her and reached out to the frail girl. She supported her chin with her left hand, took a golden flock of her now longer hair with her right hand and played with it.

"How long are you going to let your past haunt you?" She asked again, her voice quieter than previously.

Earlier, when the cinematic record of her past had reached the climax; when the then-13-years-old her entered the burned down village and found her brother's decapitated body, she had broken down and wailed. The Phoenix had purposely put her and Kuroro in separate time space, to avoid any unnecessary conflicts that might arise in the process. She was right to do so. Had Kuroro been there when she broke down, she would have charged at him with absolute murderous intent. She had begged her to stop the madness and to spare her from the torture. She had no wish to see the nightmare again, much less with such accuracy.

"The past is worth to learn, but it is never healthy to cling too much to your past. It can destroy you."

"I must avenge them…otherwise they will never rest in peace…" For the first time after so long, Kurapika spoke up. Her voice was husky and coarse.

"Give me a break." The Phoenix rolled her eyes, as if tired with Kurapika's stubbornness. "That is your opinion. Did they literally tell you so?"

She did not answer.

"Recall what you teacher told you before Death took him away."

_Live on, Kairi. Survive and live. Don't waste your life on revenge. Preserve our proud Kuruta blood. _

"You will never earn salvation from revenge."

"…Salvation…" Somehow, the word touched the deepest part of her heart; a tiny spot that existed beyond her reach.

"Now come and prepare yourself, for what you are about to see is another painful past of the subject of your hatred and despair."

Kurapika looked up and met her golden eyes for the first time since she was thrown into this virtual space of her past. There was excitement in those eyes; it was unmistakable, but there was another hint of emotion there: curiosity. The Phoenix reached out and touched her forehead with the tip of her index finger; exactly as what she did to Kuroro. In an instant, before Kurapika could prepare herself anything, she was plunged into absolute darkness. She could feel herself in motion, but she had no sense of direction. Whether she was going up or down, or left or right, she had no idea. Just suddenly, time shifted around her and the space was distorted.

Kurapika's body felt her back slammed against something hard and solid. Her eyes blacked out for a moment, and when she had cleared her sight, she found herself looking at the ceiling of a house.

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: Yeah, yeah, I know Kurapika's past is somewhat typical and average here. And for those who dislike the idea of Kairi as Kurapika's real name, don't kill me. When I was grinding my brains to get a name, Kairi is the only suitable one that popped in my head. As for the Phoenix, I don't know why but her image is the kind of woman who can openly says: "I don't give a damn, so bug off." _

_**Next**__: Kurapika's most painful past had been revealed, and now it was Kuroro's turn to have his dark past uncovered. Kurapika was then forced to see with her own eyes how Kuroro became the man he was, whereas Kuroro found himself to have been unaware of certain essential information about his own past._


	14. Chapter 14: Looking Back 2 Ignorance

_**Disclaimer**__: I strictly do not own Hunter x Hunter_

_**Story so far**__: Kurapika and Kuroro were trapped in the virtual world that the Lady in Red created, and they were forced to revisit their pasts. They had seen Kurapika's nightmare, and now they were about to see Kuroro's dark pasts, beginning from his childhood._

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**_LOOKING BACK part 2 - OLD SCARS AND IGNORANCE_**

* * *

She looked around warily. In one glance, she could tell that the house was sparsely furnished, and that the occupants were poor. There was only furniture for basic necessities. There was only one bedroom with a single large bed inside, and a lone low table. The living room merged with the dining room, with only one table and two chairs. The kitchen was a sad view. It was located behind the house, out in the open in the backyard. There was only an old kind of stove, with a pan used to cook almost everything the family ate in the house. The paint on the wall was falling apart, and the ceiling looked like it was going to fall anytime soon. Despite the poor condition, it was still one of the better houses in the Shooting-Star City. Kurapika shook her head in disbelief; she could not believe that this house was the place where Kuroro Lucifer was born more than 26 years ago.

Kurapika lingered in the bedroom. There was almost nothing else in the room to see, but somehow, standing in the middle of the derelict room alone allowed her to absorb the reality in it. It was as if she was really standing there at that very moment. As if the room was real. There was not even a picture of the family anywhere at sight.

She was rudely jolted from her reverie when suddenly a cry was heard from the living room. In a rush, Kurapika went to the living room, fully aware that she could not be seen by the people of the past. She was not, however, prepared for what she was about to see.

There, in the living room, the man whom she assumed as the father was swinging a metal rod madly. He shouted some vulgarities to the woman he was arguing with. The woman had jet-black hair, and she was very beautiful. It was a pity that her attire could not enhance her beauty.

"He is your son!" The woman screamed while spreading her arm in a protective manner, like a bird protecting its eggs.

"That bastard kid is not my son! Lemme at him!" He slapped the woman's face hard until she fell over.

When the mother fell down to the floor, a small little boy was revealed. He was barely 3 years old, and was looking at his demon-possessed father with his big eyes. Innocently, he reached out with his tiny hands to his father. Kurapika covered her mouth with her hand. The little boy was unmistakably Kuroro Lucifer; the symbol on his forehead was the tell-tale sign. She could not describe how she felt at that moment; seeing her nemesis in his childhood, so vulnerable and weak. She had only known the strong and invincible side of that man.

"You, little demon child. Go back to where you belong to!" The man cried out and swung the metal bar in a cleaving manner, ready to strike the little boy to his death.

"NOO!" The mother, her face flooded by tears, grabbed a piece of the broken window glass and lunged at the man.

The razor-sharp glass penetrated deep into the side of the man, fatally wounding his inside. He screamed in agony as he fell down, his wife on top of him with her hands blood-stained. She scrambled away from her husband's body and was crawling towards her son, when the man hit her head with the metal bar as his final retaliation, cracking her skull in the process. The gore sprayed all over the boy, painting him crimson in her blood.

"Oh!" Kurapika gasped and covered her mouth tightly, trying not to throw up as she heard the sickening sound of the cracking skull. She staggered backwards and had to lean on a table for support as she continued to watch the horrible murder.

"Kuro…ro…" The woman whispered, her eyes wide in horror as she stared at her son's innocent face.

She fell dead to the floor, the wood beneath her soaked with the crimson liquid pouring from the gash on her head. Her gaze was still fixed on the little boy even as the light left those dark eyes. The man gurgled out more blood, before finally meeting his death as well, following his wife. The little boy stared at her with blank face, still too young to understand death yet. He did not even pay attention to the warm wetness of her mother's blood covering him. He crawled towards her and touched her still warm face. He peered into her eyes.

"Mommy?" He called at her, his voice still high-pitched and childish.

He shook her body a few times, thinking that she might be sleeping and that he had to wake her up. Receiving no response whatsoever from his mother, the boy lay down on the floor next to her and curled his body against her. It was as if he was just about to take a nap as he usually did, with his mother sleeping next to him.

If the little boy had not been Kuroro Lucifer, she might have cried for him. However, knowing that he was Kuroro Lucifer, the most she could do was just to sympathize with him.

"My father thought I was a demon child…because of the birth mark on my forehead."

With a loud gasp, Kurapika spun on her heels only to find herself looking at the grown-up Kuroro Lucifer standing at the doorway to the living room. He was leaning against the doorway, his hands on his pockets casually as if he was not seeing his childhood horror. His eyes were looking straight into her eyes, daring her to say something.

"Furthermore, my psychological skill developed all too late. I barely responded to what my parents did or said." He straightened up and approached Kurapika until he was right next to her. The girl kept vigilant about his movements, while Kuroro looked at the corpses of his parents on the floor.

"Not to mention that my mother insisted on keeping me instead of abandoning me on the streets because of that handicap of mine. I guessed all those drove my father over the edge of his sanity." He shrugged offhandedly.

"Why are you here?" She asked in a low whisper.

"I am not afraid of my past…Unlike a certain someone." He added with a small smirk directed towards the girl.

Kurapika looked away, feeling ashamed that the older man had been right. She had been afraid to witness again the massacre of her tribe. They were placed in separate time space by the Phoenix because she was fully aware that Kurapika's mental strength was as fragile as a glass. Kuroro was present in this cinematic record of his past because he had not shunned away from it. He embraced his past, no matter how tragic and monstrous.

For a split second, the scenery turned static and blurry as time was fast-forwarded, and in the next second it turned back to normal. However, this time the sky outside was already darkening as dusk fell, furthermore dark clouds were gathering. The sound of thunderclap racked the dead house, waking up the little boy from his nap. He glanced around with sleepy eyes, and then looked at his mother's still body. The corpse was already icy cold and stiff from rigor mortis. He shook her again, and still received no response. Heavy rain started to pour outside the house. Kurapika glanced to the side and found Kuroro looking at his child form with impassive face.

"And here they come." He said in a whisper-like voice.

True enough, Kurapika soon heard the characteristic slithering voice of a snake. She looked at the other door with anticipation, her breath held as if waiting for any monster to appear. A great snake then made its way from the front door, its dark green scale wet from the downpour. It sniffed the air with its forked tongue as it tried to find the source of the sweet, metallic fragrance of blood.

The little Kuroro turned around and spotted the gigantic snake as it slithered towards him, its massive head just a few meters away from him. Showing no fear or surprise, only curiosity, the boy reached out towards the snake with his little hands. Amused, the snake licked his hands with its forked tongue. The little boy giggled, as if it was a dog that had licked him; not a monstrous snake. Kurapika cringed as she saw the entire unsettling scene. Kuroro had been telling the truth; his psychological skill really developed belatedly. Even since his childhood, fear had been absent in that man's heart.

"What did you find, Basille?" Kurapika heard the then-all-too-familiar voice. Kuroro narrowed his eyes slightly as he heard the voice.

Ishtar then emerged from the door where Basille had come from. Kurapika saw that she had not changed the slightest even more than 20 years before she got to know her. Her hair was still the same mass of curly black hair, her skin was the same pale white skin. The only difference was may be the coldness in her face. Kurapika had never seen her face with such coldness before. She looked around the room with such casual manner as if the outrageous bloodshed in the room meant nothing to her. When she looked at the little boy, however, she paused for a while and finally her lips went upturned.

"My, my…Look at what we have here." Her voice sounded like a coo and she approached the little boy. She squatted down before him and looked at his face with what seemed like cold amusement to Kurapika.

Filled with curiosity, little Kuroro touched her face with his small hands. Ishtar looked slightly taken aback, but she let the child indulged in his curiosity. He felt her face, touched her hair and then he looked at his dead mother.

"Mommy…"

"Your mom is dead, sweetheart. And so is your dad." Ishtar caressed the boy's wet hair gently. Suddenly her one dark eye lit up, as if she had just come up with a bright idea. "So why don't you come with me?"

_Lady, are you suuuureeeeesss?_ The snake hissed questioningly. It was very unlike her to adopt a human.

"It will be fine, Basille. This child…is special."

_Because of the uncanny birthmark on his foreheaaadsss?_

"No. That is just a matter of physical appearance. It has no other significance." Her curly hair bounced as she shook her head. She touched the boy's face with the tip of her fingers. "But I can see it… He is more than anything I've seen…"

The little boy looked at her with his great eyes, and then he reached out to her, as if embracing her offer. With a soft smile, Ishtar took him and lifted him up, carrying him as a mother would carry her child.

"What is your name, child?" She asked softly.

"…Kuro..ro…"

"Kuroro?" She repeated the name, as if tasting it. She then looked over the bodies of his dead parents. "And your father thought you were a demon child? I see…"

Kurapika frowned at her words. How could she tell that? She was not there when the father screamed those words.

"Her True Vision could see whatever happened in a place." Kuroro explained for her as his eyes were glued on the woman. Kurapika thought she could see a mixture of contempt and something else in that endless depth of darkness of his eyes.

"So then, I will give you a name." Ishtar turned around with the child in her arms. "You will be Lucifer. The mighty angel who had come down from Heaven to rule Hell. You will be strong like him, who survived despite being deprived of his power and glory."

She kissed the boy's forehead, and the child giggled. He then leaned forward and hugged her slender neck. With a motherly smile, Ishtar walked away from the corpses towards the front door, into the downpour. She then disappeared behind the curtain of rain, along with the basilisk and the child in her arms.

* * *

Everything went into static and Kurapika could feel the air vibrating. The hum echoed in the chaos, but soon she found herself in another location. Kuroro stood still next to her, he was already used to the time and space shifting of the cinematic record of their pasts.

"Where…When?" She asked, still dazed and disoriented from the shift.

Kuroro looked around, trying to remember what time and where they had arrived to. When he heard the clatters of metals and the sound of a child sobbing, he knew straight away.

"Get up, Kuroro. A fighter never cries."

A familiar voice greeted Kurapika's ears, but when she looked up, she could not believe what she saw. On the floor was a boy, much older than before, yet still the same child. He was covered in bruises and bleeding cuts. His eyes were moist with tears that threatened to overflow. On the floor besides him was a sword. Standing in front of him was Ishtar, her sword raised and her face stern. Rather than a mother, she looked more like a strict mentor and a warrior herself.

With a grunt and a stifled sob, the boy got up and picked his sword. He took battle stance, although his face showed how much he was suffering from the abuse. Kurapika then knew that at this point of time, Kuroro had not yet mastered the art of putting the mask of indifference he had always donned most of the time.

"It was 5 years after she took me in. Since the day I could run on my own, she trained me for combat." Kuroro explained, his voice monotonous and his face impassive as ever.

Kurapika stared at his face. He looked like a stone statue, only looking straight at whatever was presented before him, detached from any emotions. For her, he looked like he had hardened his heart, putting it somewhere else so that he would not feel anything. Somehow, after seeing only a glimpse of his past, already she was feeling sorry for him. What a pitiful man he was.

CLANK!

Again, in a flash Ishtar had disarmed him. There was a fiery red mark on his wrist where Ishtar had hit him with the flat side of the sword. The little boy yelped in pain.

"Again." Ishtar swished her sword and had her sword ready.

They continued with the session until something horrible occurred. Exhausted, the little boy dropped his guard and in that split moment, Isthar was charging at him. With wide eyes, Kurapika witnessed the moment Ishtar's weapon pierced through the small body and skewered him.

Ishtar gasped in surprise on what she had done. The boy did not even have any chance to cry out or to gasp in pain. Quickly she released the hilt of her sword and caught the dying boy in her arms.

"Kuroro, Kuroro!" She cradled him carefully and shook his body slightly to wake him up. The boy's eyes were already half-closed, as if surrendering his soul to Death.

"What's with the noises, Lady?" A hunched figure tottered down the hall and towards them, still blissfully unaware of the bloody scene. When Hatsubaba looked up, though, her eyes were as wide as an owl's. "For the love of God!"

The old witch doctor quickly approached them and checked on the boy. The pulse was still there, albeit very faintly, but his breathing was shallow. The old woman said that if they did not find a blood donor, the boy was as good as dead.

"Give him my blood." Ishtar insisted firmly.

"But, Lady, surely you jest! By doing so, your immortality will expire!" Hatsubaba began to protest. "That is the rule of your kind! You must not share your blood with anyone else!"

Kuroro's eyes widened. He did not know of this scene.

"I don't care!" Ishtar's dark eyes were fixed on Kuroro, whose breath was barely there. "If it can save his life, I don't mind. Besides, I have lived for far too long…"

"Lady…" Hatsubaba looked at her with a mixture of sympathy and anguish.

Suddenly, everything then went into static and the air vibrated again. Although she was uneasy with the ringing in her ears, Kurapika took the effort to look at Kuroro's face. His expression was that of a shocked one. Kurapika remembered the huge scar on his stomach that she saw weeks ago in Chiron's forest. So he acquired that scar from this accident. She frowned with uneasiness at the thought.

"I don't remember…" He whispered to himself. Kurapika blinked at his sudden doubts. To her, he seemed surprised by that particular piece of his past.

* * *

The static continued for a while, before suddenly everything cleared up into a bright white light. Kurapika instinctively shielded her eyes from the assault of the light.

"Where are we going?" A childish voice alerted Kurapika back to the cinematic record of Kuroro's past.

She pried open her eyes and found herself in a dense forest. When she turned around, she could see the top of the temple where Ishtar was living in. It was most probably the forest behind the temple, the one Ishtar had told her about when she was saved from the Chimera Poison. When she turned back, she saw a 10 years old boy walking behind Ishtar. The boy looked around him curiously, as if it was the first time he had ever stepped into the forest.

"You will have to survive here for a week, look for food on your own, fight the wild animals here. After one week, come back to the temple."

Ishtar stopped walking and spun around on her heels. Her midnight-coloured robe swished around her gracefully, glinting under the blessed sunlight. The boy had his eyes wide in shock. Without waiting for his answer, Ishtar walked away and disappeared into the depth of the forest. The boy stood alone in the middle of the forest, lost and confused.

"It was this time…" Kuroro muttered. "…The first time I was poisoned."

As if answering to his cue, the scene before them was fast-forwarded. In the blur, Kurapika could catch a glimpse of the boy scavenging for food, killing the wild animals for both food and self-defence, finding clean water for drink, and so on. Time stopped fast-forwarding when it reached the sixth day of the week. The boy, by then he was already filthy, was walking by a thick shrub overflowing with a kind of berries. He happily plucked the sweet fruits and ate them, unaware that a certain creature was lurking beneath the bushes.

"Ouch!" He yelped as he felt a sharp pain on his calf. He kicked whatever was clinging to his flesh, and found a venomous looking lizard landing on the ground. The lizard hurriedly scurried away for it was by right a shy creature, however its poison was strong.

His calf rapidly turned blue in colour and in no time the boy's leg was paralyzed. He took out his switchblade and tore at the bite mark, not bothering to clean the blade first. He squeezed out the bad blood, but he was too slow. The poison was already making its way up. Cursing quietly under his breath, for he was losing his breath, the boy crawled towards the clearing, attempting to reach a lake he had just found the other day. The lake was just a few crawls ahead, but his body just could not take it anymore.

Kurapika stayed rooted to the ground next to the grown-up Kuroro. She felt compelled to drag the boy to the lake, despite knowing that it was Kuroro Lucifer. In a split moment, she remembered the incident back then in the cave, when Kuroro got a tetanus. Fully aware that he was the murderer of her people, she still had helped him. Kurapika's eyes widened.

_What was I thinking? _She averted her gaze to the dying boy before her. _What am I thinking?_

For a moment, everything was blank to her. She could not think anymore, as if her brain circuit had gone malfunctioned.

_He is Kuroro Lucifer, the murderer of my people. Why…am I thinking all these? Why am I here standing next to him? Shouldn't I…_

Kurapika willed her chain to appear, and her eyes had already turned bright Scarlet. However, nothing happened. The rattles of her chains were never heard, the solid coldness of the metal never materialised in her hand. Only then, after several seconds of struggling, she realised that her Nen had been sealed. They were in the Phoenix's realm, after all. She was literally powerless there. Begrudgingly, Kurapika clenched and unclenched her fists and drew a deep breath in an attempt to calm her self. When she was back to her sense, however, she saw Ishtar already cradling the boy in her arms. She walked towards the lake and stood at the edge.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Morgan, but please lend me a hand?" She asked quietly to the water.

Just suddenly, the water stirred and moved to form a translucent figure of a woman. The figure solidified into an enchanting woman with wave pale blue hair. Her amused giggles rang pleasantly.

_How precious is the boy to you, pray tell, milady, until you ask for my help?_ She asked, with her thin lips ever upturned.

"More precious than my immortality. So I take it you are willing to assist him?" Ishtar asked with calm voice.

_How can I deny your request, when that pretty boy reminds me so much of my Lancelot?_ The Lady of the Lake hovered above the water with slight agitation and approached Ishtar.

"Morgan, you are still mourning over Lancelot's death." Ishtar accused with slight frown.

Kurapika's eyes widened.

"She is Morgan Le Fay! The Lady of the Lake!" She exclaimed as the realization dawned on her.

"The very same one as the one who purged the chimera poison from your blood system." Kuroro added.

_So that's her real form._ Kuroro mused. He did not realize that his visage had softened by a certain extent. Again, this was a scene that did not exist in his memory. Not that he forgot it; he merely was unaware of it. After all, at that time he was at the brink of death yet again.

_Now that you have your own Lancelot, you will know the depth of my sorrow when I lost mine once you lose yours…Lady Medusa…_ The Lady of the Lake muttered as she took the dying Kuroro from Isthar's arms.

Both Kuroro and Kurapika went rigid for a second. Finally, they knew of the true nature of Ishtar.

"A Medusa…So that's what she really is." Kuroro murmured.

"You never know?"

He shook his head slowly. "I never wanted to know."

Kurapika looked at him with a slight frown. She then decided to ignore his obvious contempt towards Ishtar. That would be his problems, not hers. She tried not to meddle too much with his personal affairs, lest she got entangled in it more than she already did.

* * *

"What is the meaning of this?" He threw a VCR rudely to the floor in front of Ishtar, who was inhaling her hookah as usual.

"Of what?" She asked casually, as if his rage was nothing special.

Kurapika looked on as she witnessed the onset of the birth of the Genei Ryodan; or so Kuroro told her. Earlier on, when they had been sent to a few years after the Lady of the Lake event, they ended up in a shack where a handful of boys; including the then approximately 16-years-old Kuroro Lucifer, were gathering.

"I only had very few friends." Kuroro informed her deliberately. "Since they all thought that I was a sheltered kid, and so I was worth almost nothing in the gang. In other words: useless."

"The power of stereotype, huh? Just because you have Ishtar to look after you." Kurapika had muttered with slight derision in her voice. She disliked stereotypes the most. Kuroro commented nothing, and so they watched the unfolding events in silence.

"In this VCR is the recording of a mafia boss from the outside world talking to, I assume, The Elders." The teenage Kuroro said with strained voice, as if he was trying to rein his anger.

"…And?" Ishtar asked lazily as she exhaled a puff of her favourite sandalwood-fragranced smoke.

"He is demanding the elite force from here. The specially trained soldiers for them to do the dirty job." The boy continued, his dark eyes blazing with pure rage.

Ishtar said nothing and merely waited for Kuroro to continue with his 'demand'. The boy clenched his fist tightly, his shoulders bristling with anger.

"I'm one of them, right?" He finally said.

Ishtar still said nothing for a long time, but upon seeing that no more words were forthcoming from the teenager, she exhaled and straightened up.

"You are afraid, Kuroro?"

The boy turned pale as if the blood had been drained from his face, and the bristling anger vanished in an instant. Kurapika frowned with confusion for she did not understand what was happening. Kuroro besides her also said nothing, which meant he had no wish to elaborate. He would explain when he felt like it; how moody. The teenage Kuroro was obviously at loss on what to say, and so Ishtar continued.

"You are afraid that the attention I'm giving you all this time is purely for that purpose; for the sake of moulding that so-called elite force out of you. You don't want to be used, eh? You are too prideful to be someone else's pawn." She paused and cocked her head to a side, as if listening to a very small voice. "You feel cheated? You feel that all those hellish trainings are for nothing? Come now, Kuroro, be logical."

"SHUT UP!" The boy shouted, but it was undeniable that there was a panic in his voice.

Kuroro, the one standing next to Kurapika, frowned at his teenage self. How young and emotional he had been back then, so easily influenced by his feelings that he felt ashamed even to see it.

"Have you no courtesy, peeking into my heart like that?" He growled with gritted teeth. "And this is not the first time, either."

"Oh…" Ishtar seemed a bit taken aback. She had felt the sharpness of hatred and loathe in the boy's heart as he mentioned about her peeking into his heart without permission.

"Shame on you!" The teenage Kuroro shouted at her again and stormed out of the room with pure rage.

Just suddenly, after all the noises that the boy had caused, the silence in the room seemed to be suffocating. The pin-drop silence was unbearable, and Ishtar herself was drowned in her own self-reflection and retrospect. Even without anyone telling her, Kurapika knew that this was the turning point for Kuroro; the time that he decided to put on that cold and expressionless face of his. It had been for self-protection against the likes of Ishtar; and it eventually became rooted into his nature.

"That wasn't nice of him." An old voice came from the corner of the room. "And that wasn't so kind of you, either."

Hatsubaba emerged from the adjacent room and approached the solemn woman clad in black.

"You shouldn't have said his feelings at that moment. Those are quite sensitive ones. I didn't know you could be that dense, Lady." The old woman said with slightly scolding tone.

"I—" She had wanted to protest, but as she thought further, she admitted her error. "Yes…That was wrong of me…"

"Still, you could've told him that it is never your intention to raise him as the elite force." The old witch doctor frowned, as if not understanding her. "Heck, Lady, you even refused The Elders when they asked to take custody of the boy."

This time, it was the present Kuroro who turned sickly pale although his face was already naturally pale. His eyes widened slightly, but the shock on his face was rather obvious that Kurapika could not help but to notice it. Seeing that the Lady was not about to reply anytime soon, the old witch doctor continued with her ranting.

"You raise him purely out of your affection towards him. Even all those trainings are for his sake in surviving in this harsh world. You told me once that you want him to be the best, didn't you? Because of his potential, latent Nen, and such… Seriously, milady, you are such a doting parent."

"I didn't have any chance, did I?" She suddenly said with a sad smile plastered on her pallid face. "Then again, I think I wouldn't have told him either even when if I had the chance. Given the circumstances, he wouldn't believe a word I said."

_True_… Kuroro thought bitterly. Suddenly, he felt so foolish and ignorant. Now that he was already 26-years-old, he realized how so hot-headed his 16-years-old self had been.

"Sooner or later, he will find out on his own." She said with hopeful tone.

_Oh, he'll only find out after 10 years, Ishtar. _Kurapika thought as she rolled her eyes heavenwards.

A pregnant silence filled the room once again. The old woman's gaze fell to the door where the teenage Kuroro had stormed in and out earlier. There was a faraway look in those ancient eyes.

"I've never seen the boy so greatly upset before." She muttered.

"It's beyond upset, Hatsubaba. His heart…" Ishtar paused. "…is beyond repair."

Her voice was reduced to barely a whisper, but both Kuroro and Kurapika heard every single word. The air vibrated again, but in the fleeting moment before they were whisked away from that time period, Kuroro thought he caught a glimpse of the woman's tears.

* * *

When the turbulence in the air ceased, Kurapika and Kuroro found themselves still in Ryuusei-gai, but in different part of the city. Kuroro looked around and immediately recognised the place.

"The Elders' office." He declared.

"Elders?" Kurapika blinked.

"In Ryuusei-gai, The Elders are something like the chiefs of the city. Like the governor. But honestly all they did was stay in touch with the outside world. Nothing much." Kuroro shrugged nonchalantly.

"So you have really prepared other children like me to be raised as elite force?"

A familiar voice grabbed their attention, and as they looked at the source of the voice, they saw the teenage Kuroro facing a few old men. The Elders seemed hesitant, and somewhat wary around Kuroro. It was as if they did not want to tell him anything, but was forced to spill out everything.

"Yes, there are other kids but—" One of them spoke up, but was quickly interjected by Kuroro.

"I want the names." The teenaged lifted up his arms and made a demanding gesture. "The names of those children."

"What are you going to do with it then, boy? Try to free them? Don't be so naïve." The more intrepid one stepped forward and confronted the boy. "Listen. This city is, by all truth, funded by the mafia. Without them, we would have perished long time ago."

Kuroro snorted in disdain. "So we are like their dogs, doing the dirty jobs but are paid with garbage and trashes. You think I don't know? When they are done with us, what did they do? They put all the blames on us, saying that we are bunch of criminals from a city infested by exiles and black-list people. That's true, right?"

The Elders seemed to be rather taken aback, for the boy was intelligent enough to deduce until that far. They started to become restless, and the teenage Kuroro narrowed his eyes to dangerous slit.

"What a bunch of losers, all of you." He spat. "I will not tolerate it. _We_ are not born to be the black sheep of those greedy bastards. You need funds? Fine, I will fund you. In return, those raised to be the elite force will be put under my wings."

"Wha—What in the blazes are you saying?" One of The Elders literally almost fainted upon hearing a teenage boy saying such outrageous idea.

"Names." The teenage Kuroro demanded, his hands outstretched.

Suddenly, there was a cackling laughter filling the room. The Elders looked around in confusion, before they all turned to one particular direction. A wizened old lady had just entered the room, and she was laughing with amusement. He hunched back shook mildly as she laughed. She strolled forward and approached the teenage boy. She peered into the depths of his dark eyes, and upon seeing the determination in those obsidian eyes, she made up her mind.

"Here you go." She rummaged through her pockets and squeezed a piece of paper to Kuroro's hands.

"So you are one of them." Kuroro said with cold, mistrusting voice. "Hatsubaba."

The old witch doctor snorted. "Don't misunderstand me, boy. I'm against them, but what can a crone like me do against those rock-headed old things? They are tough nuts to crack."

Kuroro said nothing and merely turned around to walk away. Just as he reached the door, Hatsubaba called out at him again.

"Kuroro. About Ishtar—"

Without even sparing an ear to listen to her until she finished, Kuroro dashed out of the room. The old lady only shook her head and sighed.

"Running away, eh?"

"Exactly…" Kurapika murmured mockingly. The Kuroro next to her graced her with one annoyed look, but said nothing to deny it. He, in all honesty, admitted that he had been such a foolishly childish boy.

"So…The other children are your Spiders?" Kurapika asked, but there was no mistaking of the bile in her voice when she mentioned the word Spiders.

"Those who hailed directly from Ryuusei-gai, yes." Kuroro answered briefly. _Yes, there were originally 8 of us: Me, Machi, Uvo, Nobu, Paku, Feitan, Phinks and Franklin._ He reminisced.

Again, for the umpteenth time of the day, the air vibrated again and the humming sound filled their ears. This time, instead of being swept in swirls of distortion as the time and space was shifted, they were plunged into the abysmal darkness once again.

* * *

When they both came to, they found themselves in the infinite darkness again. A speck of red light glowed somewhere in the distance, and it seemed to grow in size gradually. Even without thinking twice, they all knew that it was the Phoenix coming after them. True enough, the light transformed into the woman figure of the Lady in Red.

"Feeling ignorant, aren't we?" She asked with the ever-present amusement in her voice.

"What now?" Kuroro asked, somewhat rather tired of the game that the Lady in Red was playing with them.

"Well, for your information, I gotta go now. I've got business to attend, so I'll leave you guys for now. 'Sides, my job's done here. Your homework will be to review all those pasts that you've revisited. Easy, no?"

Seriously, her way of speaking was starting to grate on both youths' nerves. Her regal appearance and her manner of speaking did not match each other. It was like seeing a queen who was raised in a slum by some punks.

Suddenly, the darkness was swept over by the blazing flame of the Phoenix's. As they were engulfed in the flames, the Lady in Red showed herself in front of them for the last time. She was still dressed in her exotic garment, but her apparition was rather translucent. She grinned at her with the same playful smirk, and then her form started to shift. Her dress danced around her amidst the flames and they transformed into feathers of fire. Both Kuroro and Kurapika wasted no second as they watched on the absolutely magnificent transformation of the Phoenix.

_So…I'll take my leave now. Kurapika…_ She turned to address Kurapika; who was thinking that as she transformed into a Phoenix bird, her manner of speaking somewhat improved.

_When the child is born, bring it to Ishtar._

Without even sparing them even the tiniest bit of explanation, the bird of eternal flame took off. There was a huge, suffocating silence between the two of them, before Kurapika's scream harshly broke the peace.

"WHAAAT?"

And then the flames consumed them wholly.

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: Kuroro's past here is entirely made up by me. So for those who strongly dislike it, that's just too bad. Also, (especially for __**yuriyurishii**__) if you find this chapter another boring one, please forgive me. I tried my best not to make it boring, but I just couldn't help it. I felt that there were lots of Kuroro's past that needed to be showed here, in order to get the previous chapters and the coming ones to flow nicely. Sorry if I failed miserably -_- And what child is the Phoenix talking about? Taa-daa… Nyahahaha… *evil grin*_

_**Next**__: The Phoenix's last parting words became a big question for both of them. But regardless, like it or not, they were faced with an assignment that they had to finish. Kurapika then had to decide whether she had to pardon Kuroro for being who he was, or not. Kuroro, on the other hand, had to decide whether he would exculpate Ishtar, or not. And accidentally, they bumped into some people they had no wish to encounter right at that moment._


	15. Chapter 15: Conclusions of the Pasts

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter, only the made up pasts of these people._

_**Story so far**__: They were done with revisiting their pasts, but they were given an assignment by Phoenix. What kind of conclusions would they reach after seeing each other's pasts?_

_**WARNING**: This chapter contains a lot of self-retrospect and thoughts. _

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* * *

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**Chapter 15**

_**CONCLUSIONS of THE PASTS  
**_

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* * *

**_

Kuroro groaned as he tried to move his sore body. It felt as if he had been lying in one position for God-knows-how-long and now his body was aching all over. He pried open his eyes and the first thing he saw was Kurapika's sleeping face right next to him. Out of reflex, he got up, ignoring the protests of his muscles and joints.

He realized then that they were stranded on the shore where they had been before they crossed the gulf on Una's back. He looked up and found that the floating isle had disappeared, along with Phoenix. He glanced at the sleeping figure of Kurapika. From the way he had been lying down earlier, and the way she was sleeping, he could imagine that from outsider's point of view they looked more like a cuddling couple than stranded travellers. He was thankful that he was the one who woke up first. Who knows that the girl would do if she found herself yet in another compromising position with him? All hell would break lose.

He felt a nudge on his shoulder, and when he turned around, he was face to face with Una, their Unicorn foal.

"You've been waiting for us? Good girl." He patted her head gently.

The breeze around him was chilly, and dusk was already falling. He needed to wake the girl up and evacuated to the nearest woods. He had no wish to spend the night there in the open shore, vulnerable to bad night wind and everything else.

"Kurapika, wake up." He nudged her shoulder lightly.

Kurapika, being the light sleeper she was, responded quickly. She groaned sleepily and rolled over. Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked a few times. Her head was in a daze, and her minds were all muddled, as if they had just swam through thick mud. She looked around, and when her eyes fell on Kuroro, a voice rang in her head.

_When the child is born, bring it to Ishtar. _

"Child? What child?" She suddenly screamed and regained an unexpected strength, considering that she had just woken up. She jolted up into a sitting position.

Kurapika turned to Kuroro with wrathful, accusing glare. Kuroro himself was having a shock of his life, since the girl just out of the blue screeched and sprung from the sand as if she had been electrocuted. Kurapika grabbed the lapel of his shirt and shook him violently.

"What did you do to me? When did you—"

"I did not lay a finger on you!" He protested, as soon as he understood what she was panicking about. "Much less impregnate you! Think logically, Kurapika! We've been out from the cave just for a few hours and do you really think you can get pregnant, cross my fingers, in such a short time?"

"Hell, Kuroro. Ever since I started travelling with you, things have never been logical anymore!"

"For once I agree with you with all my heart." He grumbled as he peeled Kurapika's stubborn fists off his shirt. "See, Una still allows you to touch her, which obviously means you are still _innocent_. So stop taking everything out on me."

True enough, as soon as Kurapika went into a screaming hysteria, Una approached her and nudged her repeatedly, as if trying to console her. When Kurapika looked into her beady eyes, suddenly her panic evaporated and her hips turned into jelly. She sighed out of relief and hugged the Unicorn's head, as if trying to convince herself more. Kuroro then adjusted his now-messed-up-from-Kurapika's-abuse shirt. After a few minutes, when Kurapika seemed to have completely calmed down, Kuroro stood up and dusted the sands from his pants.

"I'm tired." She suddenly said.

"Yes, surprisingly so." He admitted.

"Should we call it a day?"

Kuroro raised an eyebrow. "Being very civil, aren't we?"

"Like I said, I'm too worn out to even argue with you for today. Under normal circumstances, I'll take you on."

"…You don't seem that tired to me. You are already arguing."

"Shut up." She openly scowled at him.

"Come on, let's get into the woods first." He said as he hauled his backpack over his shoulder. "We can't camp out in such an open place like this. Not to mention the night wind. We'll catch a cold if we sleep here."

"Agree."

_We…Since when does that word sound so normal between us?_ Kurapika mused in her mind as she brought her own backpack and trailed after Kuroro towards the woods not far away from them. Once they reached the woods, however, she gave it no further thought.

* * *

They set out a fire-camp to keep themselves warm. They sat facing each other across the small fire; the bind had extended yet again that they were able to sit in such fashion. Previously, such luxury was out of question due to the restricted space. Kurapika still felt uneasy with the fact that the bind did extend, due to the implication it brought. Still, she was grateful for the extra personal space she could get. Una sat near Kurapika, who still seemed somewhat distraught. She leaned against the Unicorn foal's flank, as if it was her pillow. The Unicorn foal was already asleep, and so was Kuroro, although she knew better that even as he slept, he was ever aware of his surroundings.

Kurapika gazed at the crackling fire; the colour reminded her of the colour of her comrade's eyes. She gritted her teeth and buried her head between her knees. She wanted to cry, she really did and more so after she was forced to see the nightmares of her past. If the child issue had not distracted her, the first thing she did when she woke up might have probably been to cry her heads off. But she had promised to be strong, and she tried so hard to keep that promise.

_The past is worth to learn…_was what Phoenix said before she kicked them into their pasts.

_What is there to learn from my past? There are only bitterness and hatred, and the loss…_Kurapika dryly thought.

"Aniki…" She mumbled with sad voice.

Her brother had been the one closest to her. Even if the world crumbled into nothing, as long as her brother was with her, she would be okay. Oh, she did love her parents, of course, but not as much as she loved her brother. They had been literally inseparable, and she had always aspired to be like him. She dreamed of travelling the world together with her brother, but the dream was cruelly crushed and trampled on…by that man.

Kurapika looked up just enough for her to gaze at the sleeping figure of that man. The man with raven hair and coal black eyes; the devil who levelled down her entire village and robbed the lives of her people, together with their pride: their Scarlet Eyes. Her eyes burned fiery red, the brightness almost exceeding that of the campfire. The crackling sound of the fire concealed the subtle rattles of her chain, while In concealed the surge of her Nen chains. They hovered dangerously around her, like a cobra ready to strike.

_I can do it now. _She whispered to her mind. _I can kill him now._ The bloodlust started to engulf her, and her Scarlet Eyes blazed with the hatred that she had carefully groomed over the years of her solitary journey from Rukuso Mountain.

_If he dies, you will die as well. Tonight is not new moon._ A small voice spoke in her mind; a very tiny voice at the back of her mind.

_No matter_. She widened her eyes and the Chain Jail hovered higher, ready to strike at any moment.

_You will never earn salvation from revenge._ Phoenix's voice rang smoothly in her head, reminding her.

_I don't need salvation. _She shook off the voice from her mind. _My life has been dedicated for the revenge of my tribe._

_Survive and live on._ Kurapika blinked. The voice of her Martial Arts master chimed in her head like a church bell.

_Preserve our proud Kuruta blood._

_You'll die if he dies._

Kurapika dropped her hand and the chain vanished into thin air. She leaned back against Una's flank again. As her shoulder sagged, she felt the previous determination to kill the Spider Head vaporising. The bloodlust was then replaced by confusion.

_What am I supposed to do now? What should I do? _She pondered with a look of consternation on her face. Suddenly, everything came down to two simple choices: to live, or to die. If she killed him now, assuming she succeeded, she would fulfil one of her vows at the cost of her own life while her tribe's priced Eyes would be lost forever. If she chose not to kill him now, she could live on to collect those Eyes and fulfil her Master's dying wish, but she might lose the once-in-a-lifetime chance of killing that elusive man.

_I promised that I will help you collect all your people's eyes, didn't I? _Kuroro's voice rang in her head.

_Like he will keep his promise. He's a criminal, for God's sake. _Kurapika scoffed mentally.

_I keep my words, Kurapika._ Again, that voice made its way to her head.

_Why should I trust him?_ She tried to convince herself.

_I am a human first, a Spider second. _The voice spoke again.

_Humans do not always keep their promises!_ She almost screamed in her mind, hoping that the nagging voice would go away. _People break their promises…_

_He has never lied to you, up to this very moment._ Another tiny voice spoke in her mind; the tiny voice at the back of her mind.

_It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter!_ She clutched her head in desperation._ I live solely for this purpose. I must avenge my comrades or otherwise—_

_Don't waste your life for revenge. _

She held her breath. _Am I…wasting my life?_

_Once you get your revenge, you are left only with cold emptiness._ His Nen Master's voice rang in her head.

_You will never earn salvation from revenge._ Phoenix's voice once again invaded her mind.

_Do I really need salvation?_ Kurapika curled herself into a tight ball. _I don't understand. I don't get it…_

Kurapika shrunk as she started to drown in her own confusion. _What…am I supposed to do?_

_

* * *

_

The dead leaves crunched underneath her feet, and the canopy was still thick above them. They knew that they were still deep in the heart of the forest, and they would probably need some more nights until they reached the nearest civilisation. Kurapika looked up and gazed at Kuroro's back, who was walking in front of her. During the day, they did not talk much. It appeared that both were just equally busy with their own thoughts. They allowed Una to blindly guide them out of the forest, since they were totally unfamiliar with the forest anyway.

"You didn't get proper sleep." It was more of a question than a statement from Kuroro.

Kurapika snapped out of her reverie and looked up just to stare straight into those obsidian orbs of his. There was something in there, but she could not catch it. It was true that last night she could barely sleep because of those unanswered questions in her minds, and she did not realise that it was showing from her pale face and the dark rings under her eyes.

"Mind your own business." She pointedly said as she looked away.

Kuroro stared at her for a few brief seconds, before he looked away and continued traversing the forest floor. He really had his own problems to think about. All the facts that he had just discovered from the cinematic record of his pasts; they were disturbing.

By nightfall, they were still not out of the woods yet and so they had to camp out in the open again. They set out the campsite exactly like the previous night, and they sat down in front of the warm fire in silence.

"Salad days… When I was still green in my judgement..." Kurapika suddenly muttered absent-mindedly. Her voice was like a whisper amidst the crackling sound of the fire. Seeing greens and leaves all day long, salad was the first thing that came up in her mind, and thinking of salad; that phrase was the first thing that popped in her mind.

"A quote by Cleopatra? What's with that?" Kuroro asked, intrigued by her sudden whimsical remarks. Kurapika had rarely ever been whimsical. He knew that she was just like him; thoughtful and a strategist.

She shrugged. "After revisiting our pasts, that's what comes to my mind."

"It applies to me, but not for you. You are _still_ in your salad days." He chuckled in amusement. "Honestly, you are such a precocious kid."

"Whose fault?" She snapped in irritation, yet she could feel her face burning from the embarrassment.

Kuroro chuckled at her childish reaction, but said nothing further. Silence filled the emptiness between them. Kurapika was right in a way, of course. Kuroro was the one who unknowingly set up the situation whereby Kurapika was conditioned to grow up prematurely in order to survive _and _take her revenge. Kuroro, for once, did not spend his free time reading some books and instead he gazed at the fire with a faraway look on his handsome face. Kurapika stole a glance, and upon seeing that look on Kuroro's face, she could not help but to have her curiosity get piqued.

"How do you feel, after all those?" She finally asked.

"Why with the sudden concern?" He asked as he gazed into her eyes, truly suspicious. Kurapika had never asked about his condition whatsoever.

"Call this curiosity." She shrugged. Truthfully, she just wanted to compare it with her feelings. If she had felt confused, then what would he feel?

"Disoriented." He admitted frankly while he averted his gaze to the fire. "It is vexing…to discover that there are so many things around me that I wasn't aware of. No, it wasn't as if I didn't know. I just didn't want to know."

Kurapika was surprised, truth to be told, that Kuroro was answering her at all. Knowing him (begrudgingly, since it could not be helped as they had travelled together for so long), he was the type who kept his own counsel to himself, and rarely told anyone else of his feelings whatsoever. It alarmed her mildly, but despite so, Kurapika said nothing about it and proceeded further with her questions.

"Are you regretting it?"

He shrugged. "No idea." He was honest about it. One would expect him to shrug it off and went on with the routine of his life, but he just couldn't; and this confused him.

"…Which one is worse; revisiting the nightmares of your pasts, or discovering that there are crucial parts of your pasts that you don't know about?" She asked again.

"Who knows? But if you ask me, both are equally unpleasant…" He paused for a while, before adding: "…Kairi."

"Don't start calling me that." Kurapika abruptly said. "I have abandoned that name 6 years ago." She said as she looked away.

"Don't fret about it. The name doesn't suit you anymore. No matter what, you'll always be Kurapika to me. I don't know any other Kurapika." He flatly said, still not looking at her in the eyes.

_Am I…justifying myself? For the crime I have done…_He paused in his train of thoughts. _Crime? Feh…I'm getting strange._

Kurapika, on the other hand, felt very strange to hear such things from Kuroro Lucifer. Interpreted in the wrong way, that sentence could have many implications. Unwilling to add more things to her to-think list, she discarded the thoughts. If possible, she did not want to assume things that had to do with what the Spider Head said or did around and regarding her. That was just bad for her health.

Silence occupied the space again. Only the songs of the insects around them were heard. Out of the blue, this time Kurapika spoke up; or rather, whispered.

"All this time, I've been grooming my hatred towards you and your Spiders. Now that I've revisited my past…I remember…"

She paused, as if hesitant to continue. Kuroro patiently waited until she felt ready to finish her sentences, but the words never left her mouth. Instead, she just hugged her knees and rested her temple on her knees.

"…Nevermind…" She said with small voice as she closed her eyes. Kuroro raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner, but seeing as Kurapika had no desire whatsoever to continue with her random rambling, he decided not to push her. She completely ignored Kuroro for the rest of the night.

_It was just to fulfil my lust for revenge. It wasn't purely out of my respect to the deceased in my village. It was just my personal feelings, after all. I just wanted to get even with the one who wronged me…_

That was the conclusion that she could come up with. But she added with an afterthought,

_But that isn't what I'm supposed to do. My first priority is to collect my people's Eyes…and to live on._

* * *

The fire crackled soothingly in the middle of their humble campsite. Kurapika gazed at the fire absentmindedly.

_I will not tolerate it. We are not born to be the black sheep of those greedy bastards. You need funds? Fine, I will fund you. _

Kurapika narrowed her eyes. So that was the reason why the Genei Ryodan went around stealing and robbing other people of their treasures; to fund the whole city. Still, that was not a good enough reason for them to kill people. Killing was unnecessary in their job description to reach that objective, right? She snorted softly and shook her head. If that was the aim of Phoenix; to convince her that she should forgive Kuroro of his wrongdoing against her 6 years ago by showing his past, then she had failed.

_No matter what, his crime against me is unforgivable. But…_

The scenes of Kuroro's past flashed in her mind. Of all the nightmarish moments in Kuroro's past, she could not forget the moment when his parents killed each other. She remembered Kuroro telling her that his psychological skill developed all too late.

_So is it his nature to disregard death so easily?_

She cocked her head sideways and rested it on her shoulder.

_Am I supposed to pardon him for being who he is?_

Kurapika shifted and fished out the Scarlet Eyes from her backpack. She gazed at those floating eyeballs in silence. She had to admit that it was eerie, to look into those supposedly dead eyes, yet they were blazing as if they were alive. She had no idea on whose eyes she was looking at. Without her noticing it, a warm precipitate trickled down her cheek. It seemed to her that those dead eyes were telling her that they were lonely; that they wanted to be reunited with the other lost pairs.

"I promise…" She whispered in almost an inaudible voice as she pressed her eyelids tight, trying to hold back the tears. "I promise that I will collect all of you without fail."

_I promised that I will help you collect all your people's eyes, didn't I? _Kuroro's words rang smoothly in her head yet again. She suppressed the urge to sob. She would not cry, not in front of that man. She would be strong, but still she nodded at those words.

"You'd better keep your words." She whispered in a sob-like voice.

_I keep my words, Kurapika._

"…Jerk." She buried her face between her knees.

Unbeknownst to her, Kuroro had been observing her furtively all the time as he leaned against the trunk of a giant tree behind him. He knew that she had been fighting the demons within her; her lust for revenge, her hatred, and all the negative emotions that she had been 'breeding'; as how she put it, for the past 6 years. It was almost too simple to guess what she was brooding about. Then again, his problem might be even simpler than hers.

He had been ignorant all this time. His contempt towards Isthar; the woman who had willingly brought him up, had been based on his unwillingness to learn the truth. What was he thinking at that time? He closed his ears and refused to hear any explanation. No, he did not even give them any chances to explain themselves; both Hatsubaba and Ishtar. He left them before they could defend themselves against his accusation. How shameful of him.

Kuroro stared into the warm fire of their campsite. Despite all his guilt and incredulity towards his foolishness in his teenage days, he still had no wish to go back and see Ishtar right at that moment. Typically that was what normal people would do; go back to their parents and reconcile with them. No, he would not do that. There were more pressing matters at that moment, and the issue between him and Ishtar could wait for a little while longer. After all, Ishtar had been waiting for 10 years. A little while more would not hurt.

He stopped his train of thoughts and snorted in bitter amusement.

_Still the selfish brat I have always been, am I not?_ He thought.

_I can't accept how you are so ungrateful towards your __foster __mother._ Kurapika's irritated voice from long time ago berated him. Kuroro closed his eyes and thought of it.

_I guess I did take her for granted._ He mentally shrugged.

_His heart…is beyond repair. _Ishtar's sad voice rang in his head. Kuroro, eyes still closed, frowned ever so slightly as he remembered those words. She said it as if it was really impossible and final. When he heard it, it gave off the impression that he was an irreparable broken toy. He did not like it. He would prove to her that that was not the case.

Suddenly, he felt a gaze directed towards him. He did not even need to look up to check who was staring at him. Not only that he knew that Kurapika was the only human in the area, he was already familiar with her gazes and stares, not to mention glares.

"Yes, Kurapika?" He asked, having no desire to look into her questioning eyes. He unconsciously did not wish to look at her faintly bloodshot eyes; which was the tell-tale sign that she had been crying silently. He felt bad whenever he looked into that kind of eyes of hers; but he never realised it.

Kurapika was silent for a moment, still hesitant whether she should proceed with her question or not. For the past few days, they had been somewhat awkward when the topic was concerning the pasts that they had just revisited. Kuroro seemed to be willing to listen to her, though, and so she asked away.

"So you never know until now?" She asked with quiet voice.

"No." was his only answer. He knew that she was asking about the fact that Ishtar had never had any intention of raising him to be an elite soldier.

"I bet you never wanted to find out, too."

He never answered; which she took as a no.

"Jumping into conclusions. Even Kuroro Lucifer made that kind of mistakes." She said mockingly just to spite him. "And it takes 10 years to fix, on top of that."

"People make mistakes, Kurapika." He replied with monotonous voice.

"That's what we call as 'kindness repaid by contempt', and you'll pay for it." Kurapika commented blatantly.

_I'm already paying for it, having you as my personal tormentor._ Kuroro thought bitterly as he mentally rolled his eyes heavenward.

"Now that you know about the truth, will you change your attitude towards her?"

"Honestly, stop sticking your nose to where it doesn't belong." Kuroro did not even bother to conceal his tiredness of her stubbornness by openly massaging the bridge of his nose. "This matter does not concern you at all."

"True, but it bothers me. I…feel sorry for her."

Her voice trailed away as she noticed his irritation. They then fell into a deep silence. Kurapika shrank further into the embrace of the warmth that Una emitted. Kuroro, on the other hand, sat still in his spot.

"I think you should apologise to her." She said out of the blue.

"…I'll think about it."

Kurapika turned to him and rewarded him with her most shocked and unceremoniously caught-off-guard expression. She had expected him to ignore her or glared at her with warnings to stay out of his business. She had never expected him to say something so humble (considering it was coming from Kuroro Lucifer).

"Will you admit her as your mother, then?" She questioned him further.

"Don't push your luck, kid." He said with an annoyed 'tsk'. This time he opened his eyes to glare at her mildly.

"Stop calling me a kid! I'm already 17, going to 18!" She protested with a slight pout.

"Right, I forgot. You are a precocious kid, after all." He smirked sarcastically as he tossed a dry twig into the fire. "Time to go to bed, kid."

"Oh, you are impossibly infuriating!" Kurapika exclaimed as she yanked her blanket from her backpack violently, still obeying him despite her fury. Without further argument or bickering, the two decided to rest for the day and sleep.

* * *

He had only slept for a few meagre hours, when a presence tugged him out of his slumber. With alert, Kuroro woke up and instinctively went into Zetsu state. He scanned the surrounding, but there was nothing suspicious. The campfire had been reduced to glowing embers, and the night was dead silence, except for the sounds of the crickets and other insects.

Kurapika was still deep in her sleep, but Kuroro saw that Una was wide awake. She was just as restless as he was, but she dared not to move in case she accidentally woke Kurapika up, considering that she was sleeping really close to the Unicorn foal.

Just when Kuroro decided that it was just a fleeting paranoia, he felt it. The growing pressure from one direction, and it was heading straight towards them. He felt familiar with that particular presence, and the murderous intent it bore. Quickly, he cast one glance at Una, and the foal was already gearing herself for complete defence. Kuroro could feel her power emanating and blanketing around the campfire, making a protective barrier around them.

_Must not breathe…nor speak…_ Una told him.

Kuroro looked at Kurapika, who had been blissfully unaware but was already waking up. Apparently, Una's voice stirred her up from her slumber. Just as she fluttered open her eyes, Kuroro jumped to her side and covered her mouth and nose with one hand. Shocked, Kurapika attempted to retaliate but Kuroro already had his other arm on top of her to pin her down. His strength exceeded hers, and so her retaliation was close to futile.

"Don't breathe." He whispered to her ears, his face a mere inch away from hers.

Not understanding the situation, yet sensing Kuroro's and Una's tension, she tried to relax yet stayed vigilant. It was somewhat difficult, because Kuroro's husky voice suddenly sounded so pleasing in her ears, despite the tension in it. Realising what she was thinking, Kurapika berated herself for the sudden uncouth thought. She obediently kept her breath, but still Kuroro did not remove his hand from her face. Soon enough, they heard the rustles of the bushes and a figure emerged from the pitch black darkness of the forest. Oh, by golly, how Kurapika was shocked to her core when she looked at the figure.

_Hisoka!_ She screamed in her minds.

The said man encountering them was already a bad thing, but added with a circumstance where that jester was deep in his bloodlust, murderous mood, it just spelled big DOOM. Kurapika now willingly held her breath to the best of her ability. She did not even dare to twitch. Kuroro looked on as he observed Hisoka looking around the place with his madly hungry eyes. Those eyes looked as if he was immersed in drug-induced hallucination; typical of Hisoka when he was in his killing spree.

"Strange…" The demented clown muttered with his slurry voice. "…I swear I sensed them just a few seconds ago here…"

He paced around the place, as if trying to ascertain himself. His posture was eerie; he hunched in a beastly manner and his face was so twisted that Kurapika could not help but to shiver when she looked at it. He looked like a predator ready to pounce at any possible preys that he laid his eyes on.

"It was…here…" He muttered as he stood exactly in front of the trio.

Hisoka's feet were just next to Kurapika's golden hair, and his gaze seemed to have met with Kuroro's. In Hisoka's version, however, he was just staring at the empty ground beneath him. For a few excruciatingly long seconds, Hisoka finally took off from the place, muttering to himself in utter disappointment.

"And I thought that I've found an entertainment…" He mumbled as he walked away.

The three stayed in their position for a few more seconds until they were certain that Hisoka's presence had left the surroundings and that he was out of earshot.

_Gone…_ Una finally whispered and drew back her barrier.

"What is Hisoka doing here?" Kurapika whispered, still afraid that Hisoka might hear her and came back charging at them.

"I'd like to know it myself." Kuroro replied as he took his hand away from her face.

Even without them speaking it out loud, both knew what kind of disaster would befall them once they encountered Hisoka in such mood. He would ignore their explanations and would only insist to fight. Given their circumstances, they were definitely at disadvantage. Hisoka was the type of opponent whom one had to fight with all one's might, if one wanted to survive. Even Kuroro knew that.

"Hands off!" Kurapika hissed.

Obediently, Kuroro got up and let Kurapika to sit up straight. She relaxed her sore muscles, since he was literally on top of her the whole time Hisoka was loitering around their campsite.

"I'll get bruises." She muttered as she massaged her bruised shoulders and arms.

As Kuroro relaxed himself, he noticed Una still trembling a bit from the stress due to Hisoka's overwhelmingly murderous aura from earlier. He leaned towards her and patted her shoulder. She neighed softly and shuffled her nose close to him.

"Hisoka must have scared the wits out of her." Kurapika commented as she saw Una's nervousness and restlessness.

"Any children would've wetted their pants when they saw Hisoka in such state." Kuroro said casually as he continued stroking Una's mane.

"Even I have to admit that Hisoka frightens me from time to time." Kurapika involuntarily shuddered as she remembered those hungry eyes directed at her at occasions.

"I won't comfort you like I do to Una." Kuroro said with mischievous grin as he leaned towards the foal that was enjoying his affection.

"Save it for her. I don't need it!" She snapped crudely at him.

"Really?" He continued to _tease_ her with a smirk on his outrageously-good-looking face.

Finding nothing good to make the older man shut up, Kurapika decided to just zip her mouth shut and cursed him in her mind. That would save her from some humiliation, as she had learned from numerous past experiences. Suddenly, a thought popped in her mind.

"Speaking of Hisoka…" She started. "Gon and Killua told me something about Hisoka being in Greed Island looking for a Nen remover for you. I take it that he finally got his chance to fight you?"

"He did." He answered amiably.

"Who lost?" She asked straightforwardly.

Inwardly she knew who the victor was. Hisoka would kill his opponents when he was finished playing with them, and so if Kuroro was alive and kicking, well... That could only mean one thing. However, it was just logical for Kuroro to finish Hisoka off, too, since that demented clown had repeatedly plunged him into unfavourable conditions. For one, he betrayed the Genei Ryodan to Kurapika and he would have lost his life if only Gon and Killua were not captured by his Spiders. Then again, Kuroro could be unpredictable at times as well. Who knows what he was thinking?

"Need you ask?" He said in a smug way.

Kurapika scowled at him for his irritating smugness. Suddenly, she became disinterested about that particular issue.

"I think I'll just sleep now." She said with a sigh. Really, arguing with Kuroro Lucifer just served to tire her down.

"Fine by me." He shrugged, but he did not go back to his original position. Instead, Kuroro lay down next to Una after stroking her silver mane several times; as if reassuring her once more.

_Sleep near me._ The Unicorn foal pleaded, her voice small and weak.

Truthfully, Kurapika was ready to shift her place and slept somewhere further away from the man, but hearing Una's plea, she did not have the heart to reject her. After all, it was Una's magic that had saved them from a deep trouble. And so Kurapika tolerated Kuroro's near presence as she slept and thus they spent the rest of the night huddling close to Una to comfort her, since she was still traumatised by Hisoka's threatening presence.

* * *

"It still bothers me…" Kurapika started with small voice. "…about the child…" She said with even quieter voice.

They were still walking across the forest, but as the canopy thinned out, they knew that they were near the exit of the forest, and close to civilization.

"…I'm pretty sure you are not pregnant." Kuroro responded somewhat awkwardly as he glanced at Una. She was still behaving normally around Kurapika, which meant he had to be correct.

"…Still…" Kurapika ducked her head in attempt to hide the blush that was threatening to burn her whole face.

"She said 'when the child is born' without saying how or when it will happen. Relax a bit, Kurapika. You are NOT pregnant." He sighed. "She didn't even say that you will be the one to give birth."

But what else did she have to think of? How could a child be born without a mother to bear it? If anything, she would be the one to bear since she was the only female there…Wait a minute.

"Could it be Una…?"

"She is just a foal, don't hope too much."

"Ok, _maybe_ I will be the one to give birth to the child, cross my fingers, but who'll be the father? I am not Virgin Mary." Kurapika exclaimed as she threw her arms heavenwards in exasperation.

Kuroro turned to look at her, and then he gave her a lopsided smirk. It was a smirk that sent a chill down her spine, not because of anything evil or menacing from it, but because of something else.

"Not you." She said in a voice barely a whisper, full of pure horror.

"Nobody said that." He replied as he turned his back towards her again, the smirk still plastered on his pale face.

"I'd rather die than bearing your child." She hissed belligerently.

"Really? Be careful with what you say. It may just backfire." He evilly taunted her.

Oh, how she really was tempted to summon her chains and plunged the blade right through his heart and finished him off right there, right then. Instead, she inhaled deeply and exhaled soundly. She repeated it until she felt that her head had cooled down. Kuroro, on the other hand, kept his amused smile plastered on his normally stoic face.

_Exit_. Una suddenly announced.

True to her word, as Kurapika looked up she could see the end of the forest just a few metres away from them. They could even see the outskirt of the city that lay just out of the forest. They then increased their pace towards the exit, with renewed strength coming from the thought that they would be reunited with civilisation once more.

"Kurapika." Kuroro suddenly said, as they walked towards the exit.

She looked at him straight in the eyes. With such seriousness in his voice, she knew that she had to pay attention.

"When we are done with all these…binding matters, you are free to solicit your revenge from me."

"What?" Kurapika had instinctively halted upon hearing and so Kuroro was forced to stop as well. He turned and looked at her. Kurapika was looking at him with her most incredulous and I-can't-believe-my-hearing-for-the-moment-although-I'm-pretty-sure-that-it-is-still-perfect look.

"It is your right." He said without faltering. "After all, I might have done the same, if I were you."

Kurapika looked at him with a frown. The man had been behaving oddly and saying strange things lately, more specifically after they left Phoenix cave. For one, he was becoming more and more honest to her, especially about his thoughts and feelings. That made her uneasy, because it meant that he was opening up to her. She did not want it. It frightened her; Kurapika was afraid that she would come to accept that man. Was revisiting his pasts had some sort of effects on him?

"But when the time comes, don't think that I'll go easy on you." He gave her a lopsided grin and turned to walk away.

"Hmph! Be my guest." She huffed as they marched towards the city.

Honestly speaking, though, she preferred this new Kuroro better. At least she knew what that unpredictable man was thinking.

* * *

The hustle-bustle of the city was getting somewhat alien to Kurapika. She had spent months with Kuroro travelling across unfamiliar terrains and secluded areas in order to meet some mythological creatures. This time, they had to fill their supplies, as it was running thin. Una stays in the forest, since she could not go into the city where there were full of impurities. She would wait for them patiently there.

"I've been thinking." Kurapika suddenly said.

"Of what?" He casually asked. As of late, the atmosphere around them had eased and they had talked more frequently in a much civilised manner.

"If we are to collect the Scarlet Eyes, shouldn't we find a storage place or something? There are 36 pairs of them, after all."

"Right." Kuroro nodded. He had been thinking of that as well. "There are a few options to that. It's either we leave them with the other Spiders—"

"No. Cross that." Kurapika interjected pointedly.

"Or we find our own place to store them, but the safety is questionable so we may want to cross that out. Or we can store them in Ryuusei-gai."

"I don't want to frequently go back and forth to that secluded place." She shook her head. "It's too much a pain."

"Neither do I. The last option is…we put them in the Prancing Pony Inn."

"At Fino's place? We already imposed on her so much, we can't trouble her more than we already did." Kurapika started to protest.

"Then what options do _you_ have?" He asked back.

Kurapika fell silence, since she knew that she did not have any better options than the ones he offered anyway. Of all those available options, Fino's place seemed to be the best choice.

"Well…" She started, but a familiar voice intercepted her.

"Kurapika?"

She looked around, trying to find the owner of that voice. Strange, she felt that she had heard that voice before, but it seemed so long ago.

"Kurapika, is that really you?" The voice was now closer.

When Kurapika spun around and finally laid her eyes on the owner of the voice, she could not help but to turn pale. Kuroro noticed this and raised a curious eyebrow.

"Ha—Hanzo?"

Of all people, now the loose-mouthed Hanzo Hattori had to show up before them.

"Hey, I didn't expect to see you here of all places! How're you doing? I've been trying to contact you since long time ago but you line is dead. What happened? You alright? You look pale." He showered her with torrents of questions and sentences as he approached her with the grin plastered on his youthful face.

"I—I'm okay." She stuttered, failing to show that she was okay as she claimed to be.

"Hmmm…You look kind of different…Your voice is rather…" His eyebrows were knitted as he started to think. He observed Kurapika for details, before finally realizing: "You are wearing girl's clothes!"

"I am a girl, Hanzo. I was under obligation to disguise myself as a boy during the Hunter Exam, and under no circumstances that I am to disclose to you the reasons behind it. So, you said you were looking for me, right? What's the occasion?" She quickly briefed him.

"Huh? Oh yeah! Almost forgot. You see, there's this new National Museum in my country. It's really awesome, you know. You gotta come and see it for yourself. Knowing you, I thought that you'd want to look around. So I want to give you an Invitation." He seemed to have forgotten all over about Kurapika being a girl and started to blabber about the National Museum.

He rummaged through his pocket and fished out a piece of invitation card. He handed it to Kurapika, who was still somewhat wary but had relaxed a tiny-wee-bit.

"Is an Invitation really necessary? Is the event really prestigious?" Kurapika scanned the invitation card briefly.

"Of course! It'll be one of the best Museum in the whole world! There are many antiquities and rare artefacts in store; those that you will never find anywhere else but there. You gotta see it for yourself, really!" He said enthusiastically.

"Then, can I have one as well?" Kuroro suddenly spoke up.

Kurapika spun her head to give the older man a questioning look. Hanzo, on the other hand, looked as if he had just seen the man standing close-by behind Kurapika for the first time.

"You are…your friend, Kurapika?" He asked her.

"Erhm…You can say so?" She answered reluctantly with gritted teeth, since she could literally feel Kuroro grinning amusedly behind her.

"I'm interested in rare objects and artefacts. If you don't mind, I want to admire those treasures of your country as well. It will be my pleasure." Kuroro said good-naturedly.

"Oh, the pleasure is mine! Here, have one!" Hanzo hastily fished out another Invitation and gave it to Kuroro.

"The date and place is there. If you need any help with the accommodation, you can just leave it to me. Then, I gotta go now. I have other matters to attend to. See you around, Kurapika." Hanzo had already turned around to walk away, but he stopped halfway and added. "Oh, by the way, I think Gon, Killua, and Leorio are coming, too. I guess we'll have a nice reunion, eh? Bye then."

With that, he waved a goodbye at them and disappeared among the crowds. Kurapika stood rooted to the ground, at loss on what to do next.

"You don't seem very happy to see him." Kuroro commented.

"Hanzo is talkative; his lips are amazingly loose. I don't want him to get a wind of anything that has to do with our circumstances." Kurapika said dryly. "It'll spell doom if Hanzo spread the news about us."

"I guess so." Kuroro shrugged, and they continued walking among the crowds. Personally, he was the type who would want to avoid any unnecessary hassles or gossips. He valued privacy very much, and he was sure that Kurapika was the same.

"I was right. Nostrad didn't announce my death." She muttered.

"No wonder he didn't seem surprised to find you here, alive and kicking." Kuroro nodded. It had been bugging him since the beginning.

"I don't think…" She said with small voice. "It's a good idea to go there, invited or not."

"Why not? I think it's a nice change to go to another country." Kuroro said easily.

"You heard him. Gon, Killua, and LEORIO will be there as well. They'll make a big fuss over it, when we bump into them. AGAIN."

"You are still thinking of the incident back then in the Prancing Pony Inn?" He asked.

"…Yes… Besides, this is not the time for some sightseeing. We have more urgent matters to attend to." She firmly said with a degree of determination.

"True. Then, will it make any difference if I am to tell you that our next destination is exactly his country?"

Kurapika snapped her head to stare at the older, taller man with intense glare. Even without her asking it verbally, he knew what she was questioning through her oceanic eyes.

"The National Museum that your friend was boasting about," Kuroro explained casually, "hosts the object of your desire."

Kurapika's eyes widened. Her lips parted slightly, only to let three words escaped her mouth in a faint yet intense whisper.

"The Scarlet Eyes."

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: Many thanks__ all reviewers for your priceless supports; they helped boost my morale tremendously *deep bows* For **rin_4869**, please not that I can't reply to you since you have no account. If you wish, you can email me (check my updated profile again) A lot of conversation here, and a lot of thoughts from our two main characters. Any objections of their thoughts and feelings? Hehehe… Somehow, Kuroro seems to resemble Sensui from Yu Yu Hakusho; so I thought he might love animals as well. Kuroro's conclusion is somewhat simple, but regarding his thoughts in relation with Kurapika, that'll be in the next chapter. I don't want to squish everything in one chapter. As for Kuroro's memory about hands, it refers to his thoughts at the end of the chapter where Kurapika nursed the tetanus-stricken Kuroro. I guess the first part is really a shock to the readers, eh? Kurapika gets impregnated by Kuroro, who wants to see that? Hands up! XD_

_**Next**__: So, decidedly, they were going to attend the opening of the National Museum in Hanzo's country. They did ask the ninja to help them with accommodation, but who would expect that he would deposit them in an onsen (Hot Spring)?_


	16. Chapter 16: Onsen!

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter_

_**Story so far**__: After some days of self-retrospect, they finally reached the first town. They encountered Hanzo, who invited them to his country to attend the Grand Opening of the National Museum there. With intention to get the Scarlet Eyes there, they set off to that country, only to run into some problems yet again._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 16**

**_ONSEN!_**

**_

* * *

_**

She looked past the thick, broad window of the blimp, down to the miniature-sized towns below the thin cumulus cloud. She was going to retrieve yet another pair of Scarlet Eyes, and of course with Kuroro Lucifer in tow. The bind was still annoyingly there, and although she wanted to deny it, Kurapika had to admit that having more and more personal space was surely a nice change to have. For example, right at that very moment, they were sitting facing each other, both seated in the luxurious sofa of the business class that the blimp provided.

"It's unusual that you are willing to spend a handsome amount of money just to get this private room." She remarked with slight suspicion.

"Well, I am not exactly a frivolous person, and at the same time I am not stingy as well." Kuroro shrugged while putting down his glass of wine. "Although it would be wonderful if we had used your Hunter License; we could get more than this."

"Excuse me, my Hunter License is absolutely useless since the day you _brilliantly_ faked my death. I am not going to risk getting discovered by Nostrad by using it even for once! Anyone with Hunter License and the right amount of money can track down any usage of other licenses across the world." Kurapika complained.

"I know, I know. Shalnark told me all those already." He leaned back against the cosy sofa and relaxed.

"But I was wondering…Why don't you just get yourself a Hunter License? The whole process will be a breeze for you." Kurapika asked with a frown.

"I have no special need of it. Besides, by joining the Hunter Organization, your name will be recorded. I hail from Ryuusei-gai, so unlike you and Shalnark, politically I do not exist. I prefer not to have my name recorded anywhere. I value secrecy and independence." He gave Kurapika a lopsided smirk. "Besides, with or without a Hunter License, I can get whatever I want."

"How conceited."

Kurapika rolled her eyes in vexation and turned to look down at the civilization below the crowds of clouds out there. Kuroro was right, of course. He was overqualified to be a Hunter, and he was clearly able to get his hands on whatever he wanted, no matter how elusive and hard to get the items were. Her thought then wandered to a certain issue that they had just dealt a few days ago.

"Will Fino be alright?" She absentmindedly mumbled.

"She'll be fine." Kuroro took a sip of his wine again. "We've explained everything to her and she looked anything but excited."

She sighed again, this time out of exasperation due to a certain man's placid attitude. She knew that he might have just calculated everything, but still it grated her nerves to see him so carefree and laid back. In all honesty, it made her feel inferior and unprepared.

XXX

It was just as Kuroro said; a few days ago they decided to store the Scarlet Eyes temporarily in the Prancing Pony Inn. They had gone there, greeted the owner politely, and dragged Fino into one of the rooms and then told her all about their circumstances. It was a bold move, but there was no other choice. Rather than wasting their time with silly dilly-dally talk, as Kuroro said, they should just get down to business. They omitted, however, the part about Nen. Time was scarce enough at that moment, and so they had not explained about Nen and all to Fino, although Kurapika made a promise to herself that she would teach Fino about Nen someday in the future.

"I see. So that's what it's all about…" Fino nodded in understanding.

She did not seem frightened, and Kurapika was somewhat amazed by it. She had expected Fino to have a kind of violent reaction towards the genie and bind matter, being the country girl Fino was.

"So, where are these things you want me to keep for you?" She asked them with expecting eyes.

"Here." Kuroro showed her the floating eyeballs, and expectantly, Fino screamed her lungs off.

"Eyes?"

Kurapika sighed as her shoulders sagged in weariness. She had never liked it when she had to tell the story of her clan's again and again. "Well, you see…" Then she briefly told her history and her objective of collecting all 36 pairs of the Eyes, although she purposely let out the fact that Kuroro was the one who murdered them.

"Oh , I get it." She said with rather calmer voice, yet her face was down with gloom. "I'm really sorry to hear about your loss. That's a very daunting job, Kurapika. You're lucky to have Kuroro with you."

"Yes, very lucky." She muttered sarcastically as she gave a sideways glare at the man in question. "But I'm sorry to impose on you, Fino."

"Big deal!" Fino laughed and waved her hand in front of her face, dismissing Kurapika's uneasiness. "Besides, I'm happy that you trust me."

And so that was how they stored the first three pairs of Scarlet Eyes in Fino's inn.

XXX

"Besides…" Kuroro suddenly added. This grabbed Kurapika's attention and so she turned to face him, as she awaited his next words. "It's a safety measure as well."

"Safety measure?" Her brows were instantly knitted into a deep furrow.

"I thought it would be best to put you and Nobu in separate rooms. I don't want you two to engage in meaningless quarrels, like before."

The moment Nobunaga had spotted Kurapika with Kuroro in the airport, he almost lunged at her throat with her katana ready. Fortunately Machi was there, so she dragged him back before he could wreak any havoc in the airport and gave more troubles to their Danchou. Kurapika, on the other hand, was giving Nobunaga a hard time by jeering at him with obvious contempt. Kuroro had to drag her away before she could verbally assault Nobunaga with her most caustic remarks and aggravated the situation.

"Why, thank you so much for your kind consideration." Kurapika said sardonically as she leaned back against the sofa.

"Don't mention it. I'm doing it for my own sake as well."

Kuroro put one leg above the other knee and was totally relaxed in everything. Truthfully, if he was to stay in the same place as Nobunaga, the latter would endlessly ranted negatively about Kurapika, and he did not like it; not even for a bit. He had known the chain-assassin more than anyone else, and he knew that she was anything but an agreeable companion when dealt properly; her sarcasm habit aside. If anything, he actually enjoyed her companionship.

"And speaking of that, why in the deuce are you letting them to tag along?"

"They insist on coming. Besides, I heard Cloud Hidden Village is Nobu's and Machi's supposedly home place."

"I thought they were born in Ryuusei-gai?" Kurapika raised an eyebrow.

"They were among the babies who were dumped to the city." He said with offhanded demeanour, as if it was nothing big.

"Oh." It was all that she could say in response. Technically, Nobunaga was one of the Spiders whom she really despised, and Machi was the one she would try to avoid due to her piercing coldness and indifference, but after hearing this little fact, she could not help but to feel a tiny-wee-bit of sympathy. Well, she would tolerate them for the moment. They were, after all, visiting their home country after so many years.

"Let them have a vacation, once in a while." Kuroro added as he sipped his wine.

"Aren't you all always on vacation?" She said with rather scoffing tone.

"Well, I guess…" He chuckled with a small, amused smile tugging at his lips. "But, we may need them for backup if we are going to get the Eyes no matter what."

"Liar. You just want to loot the place." She said in a derisive manner, and at this Kuroro raised an eyebrow. She might have somewhat accepted Kuroro as a person; being by his side constantly for a few months already, but the Genei Ryodan as an organization she still despise it with every fibre of her being.

"I am not so much a conceited person. It's the grand opening of the National Museum, surely you can imagine how tight the security will be?"

"What's this? Are you saying that you mobilise the entire gang just to help me get the Scarlet Eyes?" Kurapika asked in disbelief. Really, the man just kept surprising her with his whimsical antics and irregular behaviour pattern. Or was it just her who was not prepared to accept his kindness?

"You can say so." Kuroro shrugged, as if it was really nothing big. "I did promise you to collect all the Eyes, didn't I?"

Kuroro might not notice it, since he was busying himself to admire the scenery outside the blimp, but Kurapika was turned stiff the moment she heard him saying that promise. She could not get that particular sentence out of her head, whenever she despaired over the daunting task of going around the world to collect every single pair of the precious Eyes.

_Really, I don't understand this man…_She wondered.

* * *

"Yo, Kurapika! Welcome to the Cloud Hidden Village, my hometown!" Hanzo greeted her with open arms.

"Thanks for fetching us, Hanzo." Kurapika said politely. "And sorry to make you arrange our accommodations."

"Oh, don't mention it! Everything's set and ready for your service, Ma'am!" He said with a thumb up.

Kuroro and Kurapika exchanged a quick glance to each other. Both mentally agreed that Hanzo adapted to the fact that Kurapika was a girl so quickly that it seemed unnerving. By the time they reached the airport, it was already evening.

"The opening will be in two more nights. I proposed to you to come earlier because there will be festivals and bazaars before the event. So I was thinking of letting you to have a taste of the festivals here. Not to mention that you definitely have to try out the onsens (Hot Springs) here. I have reserved a room in one of the best Ryokan (traditional Japanese inn with onsen) around here." Hanzo continued to ramble on.

At the mention of onsen, Kurapika stiffened. For some unexplainable reason, she had a bad feeling when she heard that word. Suddenly, Nobunaga rushed forward and grabbed Hanzo's hands.

"You are a local here? Tell me more about this place! This is my hometown, too, but this is the first time I've been here." The samurai said with glittering eyes.

"Really? It's good to be home, isn't it? If that is the case, then come with me! I'll show you around to your hearts' content!" Hanzo replied with equal enthusiasm.

"Then, Danchou, I'll be off for a while!" The samurai grinned at Kuroro with wide smile, but turned to reward Kurapika with a venomous glare. "And don't you dare pull some stunts, brat."

With that, the two grown-ups walked away hands-in-hands, drown in their enthusiastic little world. Kurapika was glad that Nobunaga would be away for quite sometimes, since the samurai had been glaring daggers at her all the time while his hand was steadfastly curled around the hilt of his katana, ready to strike her at any given opportunities. Kurapika shook her head in disbelief, but Kuroro only chuckled amusedly.

"That's good for him." He only said. "Machi, do you not want to go as well?" He asked as he turned to the woman.

"No, I'll pass. I'm not interested." She said, with her characteristic indifference. All that mattered for her was everything related to her Danchou and the Genei Ryodan. Other things did not interest her.

Kurapika gave him a cursory look, before she finally looked away to avoid his questioning gaze. At that fleeting second, she thought she detected a genuine care in his voice. Kurapika knew that Kuroro Lucifer cared for his subjects in the organization, but she had not perceived it to be that benevolent and bona fide. It was unsettling, but why did she feel somewhat familiar to it?

"Danchou." Shalnark called out in an attempt to ask for any order.

_Ah, right. We have a problem at hands here…_Kurapika felt an urge to slap her forehead in exasperation, but she refrained herself from doing it. She braced herself as she turned around, just as Kuroro did.

Standing in the middle of the airport, just out of the immigration department, the whole Genei Ryodan gang was present. Yes. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. If Kurapika was entitled with a one-word comment, she would give a definite DISASTER. Not only that they were all dressed in a very conspicuous manner, their behaviours were not any better as well. They had no luggage whatsoever, as well. Kuroro sensed her uneasiness of having the whole gang around, and so he gave the usual order:

"Disperse."

With that one word, they all vanished from the place, each one of them going their separate ways.

_How effective._ Kurapika begrudgingly admitted. The Genei Ryodan, albeit consisted of rogues and criminals, was extremely orderly and effective, unlike many others organization. She knew that it was all only possible under the leadership of Kuroro Lucifer, and she knew full well that Kuroro might as well be the eternal leader of the Spiders; nobody else could rival him.

"Shall we go to our lodging?" Kuroro asked good-naturedly.

"Yeah…" She said sullenly.

Kuroro raised an eyebrow. "What's with the bad weather?"

"I…" She was reluctant to say it out loud, for unrealistic fear that it might come true when the words escaped her mouth. "…have a bad feeling about this lodging."

* * *

"I thought so." She muttered as she held her breath.

Kuroro had to agree that things did not seem as colourful as it should have been. No, correction, things would get overly colourful with all the noises and commotions that could be easily foretold.

"Kurapika!" The childish voice that unmistakably belonged to a certain spiky-black-haired boy rang across the lobby of the hotel.

Gon dashed from the reception counter, leaving behind his other two friends, and skidded into halt right in front of Kurapika. Kurapika wanted to back away, still feeling uneasy, but she knew that gesture would only make things worse. So, she rooted her feet to the solid ground.

"Gon, it's been a while." She said with weak smile.

"Yeah! How are you doing?" Gon asked with blazing enthusiasm and complete innocence, that Kurapika could not help but to smile a bit brighter.

"I'm fine, as you can see." She said kindly. "And how are you and the others?"

"Kicking and alive as any horses can be." Another voice answered this time.

Kurapika looked up and spotted Killua strolling lazily towards them. He stopped right in front of them, next to Gon, and stared at Kurapika for a while.

"Yo." He said as he held up a hand casually in a greeting manner.

"Killua." Kurapika addressed him, slightly awkward as she mentioned her name. She still remembered the outburst that the livid Killua had. It was a vivid memory that she could not forget.

"I see you are getting along well." He said dryly. He cast a hard glance at Kuroro for a while, before looking away.

"Jealous?" Kuroro could not help but to blurt it out as he pocketed his hands casually. Kurapika was going to give him a piece of her mind about it later, he was dead sure of it.

Surprised, Killua blinked and his mouth gaped but he soon recovered and rewarded Kuroro with an intense glare. Kurapika herself was thoroughly caught off-guard by Kuroro's unexpected reply, and it sounded defiant, no less. It was as if Kuroro was deliberately challenging Killua.

_How childish!_ She exclaimed mentally. She had never seen this side of Kuroro before.

She observed the two in disbelief as they engaged in a glaring contest, while Gon was at loss on what to do as well.

"Erh…Killua?" He squeaked.

"What?" Killua asked curtly, his voice snapping like a dog's bark.

"Umm…I think Leorio is in trouble over there. Look, he's waving at us to get back there." He muttered as he tugged on Killua's sleeve.

True enough, Kurapika could see Leorio looking at them with uneasy expression. It seemed that he was trying to detach himself from the reception counter to have a little chat with them, but the receptionist would not allow him. Or it might be another problem, who knows?

"Ceh. That O-san (uncle) is really useless when we leave him alone." Killua finally broke the eye-contact first and turned to walk away. "Let's go, Gon."

"Yeah, right." Gon grinned uneasily as he trailed after his best friend. When they were a few paces away, Gon turned around and waved vigorously at Kurapika. "We'll see you again, Kurapika."

Kurapika could only wave back at him in silent, although she did force a smile just to appreciate the boy.

"That's a really hostile friend you have there." Kuroro said once they were out of earshot.

"You are the one who provoked him first, you dunderhead." Kurapika hissed at him fiercely.

Just as he anticipated, Kurapika continued on rambling about his attitude and so on; which he generally ignored as he took care of their registration. When everything was done and all, the maid ushered them to their appointed bedroom. It was a spacious Japanese-style bedroom, with a sliding door that led to the open corridor on both sides, with tatami (a kind of straw) floor, and across the corridor was a neatly done Japanese garden.

"The futons (Japanese bed) are stored in the drawer here." The maid explained as she slid the sliding door open to reveal a storage room containing their necessities. She continued on about the other functions and features available in the room, before finally she stopped at a small drawer.

"The 'protections' are here, should you need them." She said in a husky, sensual voice as she gave soft 'ohohoho' laughter while concealing her mouth in a shy pretence.

At the mention of 'protection', Kurapika's face blushed furiously that even she could feel her ears burning hot in embarrassment.

"We are not going to need them." Kuroro said in flat voice nonchalantly.

"Really?" The maid clamped her mouth with both hands now, seemed surprised and she even blushed slightly as she misunderstood the meaning of Kuroro's words. Kurapika, on the other hand, felt like she was going to melt into jelly out of overloading pure embarrassment.

"Then, I will take my leave." The maid gave a trained, polite bow before she excused herself. Kurapika swore she could hear her excited voice as she encountered another maid and gossiped about them 'not needing any protections'. They remained in standing position; Kuroro was appreciating the room while Kurapika was laden still in the aftershock of witnessing the maid's misunderstanding.

"Can you not say any unnecessary comments when it can give any wrong implication?" Kurapika was close to screaming at him, who seemed unperturbed by the whole misunderstanding.

"Oh, come on, Kurapika. A man and a girl sharing a room for two nights three days, what else can they assume? Family relations are impossible, judging from our different looks. You should be getting used to it by now." Kuroro said with a shrug as he dropped his backpack to the floor and stretched his body leisurely.

"Then at least don't make matters worse!" She exclaimed as she trailed after him like a puppy.

"Simmer down, kid. Why don't you go to the onsen to cool down your head? An evening such as this is perfect for onsen time. You definitely need it."

"_Excuse me!_ The bind can only span 5 metres at most, for your information. How am I supposed to go to onsen when I'm stuck with you? I don't have any choice in that matter." She pointedly said.

"So you really want to go to the onsen, if possible?" Kuroro turned to fully face her, as if challenging her.

"Well, yes, but—"

"Then let's go."

"I—what?"

* * *

Kurapika hugged her slim figure with the most insecurity she could ever have felt in her entire life. She was literally half-naked there, with only a piece of white towel to barely cover her body from her chest to her mid-thigh. Even when she already sunk her whole body up to her neck, she still felt terribly naked. She had not paid any attention once they entered the Ryokan, so she had not noticed the notification that the Ryokan had mix-gender onsen. Even if she knew, she had not expected to have Kuroro dragged her into the onsen. What more, the old couples lounging in the bath were talking about them!

"Oh, what a lovely young couple." One of the old women said in an excited whisper.

"I wish I were that young again." The other one said with dreamy voice.

_Why on earth did I relent, anyway? Idiot! _Her face was already flushed beetroot from embarrassment of those talks by those old ladies.

"Your face is already red." Kuroro, who was sitting less than 5 metres away from her, commented.

"It's the heat." She said evasively as she inched away from him. It was a perfect excuse since the onsen was really hot.

She had to admit, thought, that it was really nice to immerse her worn-out body in the hot, steaming water with sulphur fragrance. It was a lovely outdoor onsen, with bamboo trees around them and bamboo fences that separated the men-only, women-only, and mixed-gender baths. The bath was made from natural elements; it was layered with soft-edged pebbles, with the large ones as the wall for the guests to lean on as they relaxed themselves in the hot water. Kurapika was extremely lucky that the particular onsen allowed towel in the water, since most onsens prohibited that. She would rather die than to dip naked in the same water as Kuroro.

Kurapika hugged her knees tightly, still feeling insecure despite the towel and the thin fume of the hot water. The water was slightly murky due to the sulphur, not to mention the fume; it was enough to conceal her half-nakedness, but still it bothered her. Then again, she might really need the hot dip. It helped her to relax her tense nerves and her sore muscles after the long hours of flight and the tiring on-foot journey that she undertook with Kuroro.

"So nice…" She sighed contentedly.

"I told you that you need this." Kuroro said with a small grin.

She ignored his smug reply and immersed herself deeper into the steaming water, when an odd thought came across her mind. In an instance, she blushed furiously. Kurapika then turned very, very quiet. Extremely so, until one might thought that she had seen a Gorgon and had turned into a stone. Kuroro raised an eyebrow at this odd behaviour. She seemed to develop quite a habit of turning very still in a flash.

"What's wrong?"

"I…" Her eyes were fixed to the murky water, and she hugged her knees even tighter. The flush deepened on her face. "…won't get pregnant by this…Right…?"

Kuroro gawked at her; literally. That was the first time he ever did that in his whole life.

"Kurapika." He said with drop dead serious tone. "That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard in my entire life."

"Well, excuse me!" Out of reflex triggered by boundless embarrassment, Kurapika splashed the hot water towards Kuroro.

"Oh!"

When she realised it, her guilty hand was already airborne, and Kuroro head was already entirely dripping wet. Slowly but surely, he raised his hand and swept the remaining water off his face. Kurapika, meanwhile, lowered her arm and had her eyes bulging out in dry anticipation.

"You…" He started as he uncovered his face, "are asking for troubles, young lady."

In that split moment, she was totally paralyzed by his look. It was not murderous, it was not evil or malignant or whatever. It simply…paralysed her. She was so stunned, both physically and mentally, that she did not even notice the 'aunties' giggling at the other side of the bath. The only reason they did that was because they saw Kuroro inching towards Kurapika in a very…compromising manner (for her standard, at least).

Just before she could say or do or react with anything to countermeasure Kuroro's peculiar act, she heard a ruckus from the other baths. She was about to ignore it and focused on the imminent disaster, when the incoming conversation that she overheard grabbed her full attention.

* * *

In the men-only bath, two boys with contrasting hair colour ran towards the calm water of the onsen and jumped.

"Hot springs! YEAAA!"

SPLASH.

"O—oi! Kids, behave yourself!" Leorio hurriedly caught up after them, ready to scold them senseless for making such a big ruckus in a quiet, peaceful onsen. It was supposed to be a place for mediation and relaxation, not a place for rowdy kids like the two of them to play roundhouse.

"You're noisy, O-san. We're the only ones here." Killua protested, already he was soaked from head to toe.

"Still, there are other guests in other baths. Don't disturb them!" Leorio hissed in annoyance.

"Yes, yeeees." Killua said with dragged voice as he settled himself next to Gon at one side of the steaming pool of sulphur water.

They calmed down after a while, and it was peaceful for a moment.

"I still can't believe that Kurapika is really a girl." Leorio finally spoke up.

"Well, get used to it." Killua said crudely. "Rather than that, I still find it difficult to accept that she is still going around with that Kuroro Lucifer."

"But Killua, they can't do anything about it, right?" Gon said, trying to mellow down Killua's temper.

"Still…" Killua sank further into the hot water and pouted. "She could have asked us for help to collect those Eyes. Why must it be Kuroro Lucifer? Does she not think of us as her friends?"

"Oy, oy. Don't say it like that." Leorio reprimanded the younger boy. "She must have her own reasons. Although I have to admit that I don't like the idea of her travelling with that dangerous man, either."

* * *

Kurapika stayed very still as she eavesdropped to their conversation. She understood their annoyance and worry, but it was not like she could help it. She was desperate to find those Eyes, and she had no idea when they would finally break the bind. Unconsciously, Kurapika's body had sunk even further into the steaming water, that the water level had reached past her chin. Somehow, she felt very dizzy, and all conversations around her became jumbled-up clusters of words.

"Kurapika?" Kuroro finally noticed this oddity. He approached her carefully, fully knowing that she was very wary of being near anyone in such half-naked state. She might punch the light out of him if he stayed too near to her.

She did not answer, and it alarmed him because her face was already as red as a lobster, and her eyes were already unfocused. He knew right away that she was about to pass out from the heat. Without any warning whatsoever, he slipped a hand below the crook of her knees and another hand to support her upper torso. Bridal style, Kuroro fished Kurapika out of the hot bath and rushed her out of the place. He was careful enough not to let her towel slipped, though. The whole thing caused a mild commotion among the guests who were present there.

Kuroro did not realise, however, that his voice was heard by the three people bathing at the other bath.

* * *

She felt dizzy, extremely so. She felt as if she had fallen asleep in some active volcano crater or the likes. She started to sweat, and it was getting uncomfortable. She squirmed in her sleep, trying to get into a cooling position, when her body caught a breeze. It was a steady breeze, and directed towards her. It felt nice. Kurapika's eyes fluttered open once she felt comfortable enough. She found herself in a bedroom, her body was dry and she was clothed in a sleeping yukata. Her hair was still damp, though.

"You're awake." A bass voice stated.

"Did you—"

"The maids dress you up." He quickly interjected before she could scream in indignation.

"Oh…" She muttered, and added with smaller voice, "My head's spinning." She felt like her brain was being boiled, and that her whole body was burning.

"Of course. What were you thinking? Were you trying to cook yourself?" He snorted in amusement.

Kurapika turned her head to observe her surroundings further, and it was only then Kurapika realised that the gentle breeze she had been feeling was from the fan that Kuroro was using. He sat next to her with one leg propped up to support his one elbow while his other hand was used to slowly fan the heat from the onsen out of her. He was wearing an identical sleeping yukata as hers. Kurapika stared to the ceiling of their bedroom, her eyes had a faraway look.

"I don't need friends. The only thing I rely on is my own strength, and I live solely for this purpose." She said, her voice barely a whisper.

He was silent for a moment. He knew why she suddenly uttered such thing. With her only friends questioning her like that, she might as well try to self-suggest herself that she needed not concern herself too much about what her friends might think about her. She was trying to detach herself from her emotions. He was also aware of 'this purpose' she was talking about.

"If you don't need friends, it's your choice. Then again, even your own strength is just as feeble as friends are." He said softly after a while.

"What do you mean feeble?" She asked, slightly insulted by his remark but she was too weak to get angry.

_Despair was her motivation, and hatred was her fuel_. Phoenix's voice rang in his head. _Both, however, also become the manacles that tie her down._

_As long as your strength comes from your hatred, it won't do you any good._ That was what he wanted to say, but he kept it to himself. She would not listen to it, no matter what.

_It starts from you, and it ends up at you again._ He could literally feel Pheonix's mocking smile at that time. _As long as you live, Kuroro Lucifer, she believes that this burden will never disappear. So it's up to you whether you will free her of the chains that bind her or not._

Kuroro pondered about it. Come to think of it, if he died, then Kurapika's burden would be lifted. Then again, if he died, Kurapika would lose the aim of her life, wouldn't she? After all, avenging her tribe was parallel with killing him and his Spiders. If he lived on, she would keep living on for the sake of fulfilling that revenge, albeit the life itself would be a suffering for her. Which one was better, for her to lose the purpose of her life or to continue living haunted by revenge?

_Why do I care so much about it?_ He suddenly snorted in amusement. It was not like him to care about others outside the Genei Ryodan circle. When it came down to this now, Kurapika's fate was literally up to his decision. Begrudgingly, he had to admit that the Phoenix was saying the truth.

"Kuroro?" Kurapika asked hesitantly, for the man had suddenly turned very quiet and reticent. She could see the subtle confusion that he had on his expression, and it was really unlike him to be bothered at all. It might also be her who was hallucination due to her 'boiled' body.

Responding to her call, he turned to look at her. He took his time to study her visage; her pale skin, her golden hair that had reached her shoulder by then. He also took notice that she had gotten thinner by a lot. Earlier, when he rushed her half-naked form from the onsen to their shared bedroom, he took note of how feather light she was. He barely used any strength to lift her up. He knew that she looked thin for her height, but he never expected her to be _that_ thin. When he looked at her eyes, they seemed to squirm uneasily under his gaze. He could not blame her; after all, the original relationship between them was that of the murderer and the victim, the avenger and the target of revenge. There was nothing sweet in their relationship, even right at that moment it was all due the curse that Hassamunnin put on them.

_But is it a curse, or is it a blessing? Is it a boon, or a bane? More importantly, do I wish it to be different?_

Deep in reverie, Kuroro absentmindedly reached out and brushed Kurapika's flushed cheek gently with the back of his hand. She did not even do so much as a flinch or a twitch. In fact, she actually leaned her head towards his hand, embracing the coldness. Her skin was surprisingly smooth; as if it was the first time that he had ever touched her. No, he had touched her on many occasions, but he had never paid attention to such details.

"If you don't want to rely on your friends, then you can at least rely on me. After all, I'm not your friend." He said in a husky voice, as if it was not meant to be said or heard. Kuroro himself was not sure on why he was saying that.

Kurapika was already dozing off when the words escaped Kuroro's mouth, as her eyelids were already half-closed. She heard all those, but she dismissed the statement as one of her hallucinations. She even thought that his cool touch on her cheek was just another hallucination. Thus, Kurapika drifted off to slumber as her body tried to cool down the heat.

Kuroro deliberately let his fingers lingered on her cheek as he traced the contour of her face. She was so young, strong yet frail at the same time. He had seen her breaking down a few times, and it was more than enough for him to learn that she was a strong shell on the outside, yet her inside was just as fragile as any other tragedy-stricken person.

"Em…Excuse me?"

The soft, hesitant voice broke Kuroro from his reverie.

"Come in." He merely said, as he could not leave Kurapika's side at the moment.

The door was slid open, but even with his back towards the door, Kuroro knew that it was Gon who had politely come and asked permission to enter. Also, he noticed that out of the four, the spiky-haired boy seemed to bear the least resentment towards him. He did hear from Machi, Shalnark, though, that the particular boy actually despised the group judging from the attitude he gave Nobunaga and Feitan when he and Killua were captured.

"Is Kurapika okay?" He asked timidly. Personally, Gon did not understand Kuroro and his way of thinking. He tolerated Kuroro because the man seemed to be taking good care of Kurapika. Besides, from his point of view Kuroro did not seem to mean any harm to her at the moment.

"She'll be fine." Kuroro responded. "Why have you come?"

Gon did not answer for a while, but he eventually spoke up. "We heard the commotion just now, in the bath."

"And?"

"Well…We asked around of what happened, and…" Gon's voice trailed away.

"Are you worried about her?" Kuroro asked as he turned around to face Gon.

Gon seemed slightly taken aback by the question. "Of course! She is my friend." He said with incredulous tone, as if the answer was so obvious that Kuroro needed not ask it.

"That's good to hear." Kuroro said with slight smile. Despite the dimly lit room, Gon noticed the small gesture, and it piqued his curiosity.

"Em…"

"Kuroro is fine, Gon." The man said, knowing that Gon had been lost on how to address him.

This time, Gon was surprised that Kuroro addressed him by his name, but he recovered quickly. "Kuroro, why are you helping Kurapika?"

He asked it with such innocence, that Kuroro could not help but to chuckle. "You always ask me difficult question. Why, you asked? Let's see… Well, simply put, we have agreed on a truce between us."

"A truce?" Gon's eyes widened.

"I will help her collect all 36 pairs of Scarlet Eyes, and in exchange, I will have her full cooperation in our attempt to dissolve this 'curse' and when everything is done, she will leave us alone, and so will we leave her alone." Kuroro calmly stated it to Gon, who was listening intently.

"She promised not to hunt you down anymore?" He asked again, his big eyes growing in size in every second.

"In a way, yes, perhaps."

"Perhaps?" Gon blinked and cocked his head sideways in open bewilderment.

"You see, our truce is only in effect as long as the bind here remains intact and the 36 pairs of eyes are still scattered around the world. Once the bind is broken, and she has all of the Eyes, there are always chances that one of us may break the truce. It is not a life-long truce. No truce has ever been." Kuroro explained.

"Don't you agree, the Zaoldyck boy over there?"

Gon stiffened and a sweat trickled down his temple. An annoyed 'tsk' was heard from behind the sliding door next to Gon, and Killua stepped forward to reveal himself.

"How did you find me out? My Zetsu was perfect." He said with a slight pout.

Without answering him, Kuroro only gave him a mystifying smile. "Your other friend; he is a doctor, right? Why don't you call him over and have him take a look at her." He said good-naturedly as he gestured at the sleeping figure of Kurapika.

"Right!" Gon beamed and dashed to fetch Leorio.

Killua stayed rooted where he was standing. He gave Kuroro a questioning look, and Kuroro welcomed it without looking away or anything.

"Why? I still don't get it. You don't get anything by helping her so much. Even the truce itself is too far-fetched a reason for you to do so much for her." He importuned with suspicion. "Knowing you, you are the type who put the interests of yourself and your group above everything else."

"Are 'why' questions always your favourite ones?" Kuroro remarked with slightly annoyed tone. He did not like to explain himself; most of the time when he did so, people did not understand him, so what was the point of telling them anyway?

"Just call this precaution. We don't want her to get into more troubles than she already does." Killua said flatly.

"I'm just doing what I want to do." Kuroro said finally.

"You _want_ to help her? But she means harms to you and your group." Killua asked with confusion clear on his childish face.

Kuroro smiled at his befuddlement. He had expected it. Nonetheless, he could not answer him. It was a question that even he had troubled answering. Why, why, and why? He did not know. He just felt that he could not leave her alone, that he had to do something. Atonement for the crime he did against her 6 years ago? Perhaps.

_Don't worry, you will want to free her._ Phoenix's voice, once again, rang in his head.

_Maybe, but why? What significance does it hold to my interest? _Kuroro thought.

"Why, indeed?" Kuroro covered his mouth with his hand in a pondering gesture.

"Are you…" Killua was reluctant to say it, but he had his big suspicions. "…feeling responsible for her?"

Kuroro turned his head and looked at him with blank expression.

"No. That's not exactly it." He finally said after a long pause.

"Then what?"

Kuroro had no time to answer Killua's question, when Leorio noisily came into a halt just in front of their room, his medical kit ready in his hand. Gon was trailing behind him like a loyal puppy.

"Kura—GLOMPH!"

Before the lanky man had the chance to give out a yell with the capacity to wake the dead, Gon had clung from behind him and gagged him.

"Not so loud, Leorio! Kurapika is sleeping!" The younger boy whispered intensely.

"Right. Sorry." Leorio scratched the back of his head embarrassedly.

"Tsch, O-san, you always embarrass us every time, everywhere." Killua grinned with playful mockery.

"Shut up, you little runt." The bespectacled man made an ugly scowl that was characteristic of 'Leorio'.

Without being asked, Kuroro good-naturedly shifted aside to give the medical student some space to attend to Kurapika's medical need, if there was any. Leorio sat beside Kurapika's futon and set about to examine her, but he gave Kuroro a wary glance beforehand. Leorio worked in silence and gently so as not to upset Kurapika from her much needed sleep.

"Zaoldyck boy." Kuroro called Killua with low voice.

Killua did not answer him, but he turned to look at him with slight wariness. It looked like the boy was no longer as distrustful as before towards the Spider Head.

"You mentioned something about her not asking you for help in regards with the Scarlet Eyes, correct?" The older man asked with his dark eyes glued to Kurapika's sleeping figure.

"I did. What of it?" Killua asked. He had his guess about what the man was going to ask though.

"Then, would you like to participate this time round?"

Killua frowned in suspicion at Kuroro's sudden generous offer. Killua knew that Kuroro was not someone who whimsically offered someone to join his operation, not to mention the past relationship between them and that man's gang. He definitely had something in mind. As Killua considered the 'fishy' offer, something clicked in his mind.

"Agreed, but on one condition." Killua answered with a wide grin plastered on his cheek face.

"That is?"

"You must get Kurapika to go to the festival tomorrow night."

Kuroro raised an eyebrow. Simple as it might sound, when it involved Kurapika everything seemed complicated for him. Considering the situation, she would not be in the mood to go to any festivals.

"Fine." He finally nodded. It would not hurt to try to persuade her. Besides, he was quite curious about the festival itself.

"Then it's settled. O-san, are you done yet?" Killua sauntered his way to Leorio, who was crouching over Kurapika's sleeping form.

"Yeah. She's fine. A good rest is all she needs. Look at her, sleeping soundly like a piece of rock." Leorio said lightly as he packed his things into his medical bag.

"At least she doesn't snore like you." Killua grinned.

"I don't snore!"

"Denial. You snore like a dinosaur. Come on, Gon! We have things to do!"

"Eh?"

With that, Killua dragged Gon away from the room, leaving Leorio behind. Leorio looked at Kuroro nervously, since he knew of what the man was capable of. Although he often boasted himself for being the most physically active among his colleagues in his medical school, among _these_ people, he felt like an ant before Man. He scrambled his way towards the door, but before he made his escape, he looked at Kurapika once more. Lastly, he shot Kuroro a reluctant glance and he closed the sliding door behind him quietly.

* * *

"Killua, what did you talk with Kuroro?" Gon asked curiously as they made their way to their bedroom.

"I'll fill you in with the details later." Killua said impatiently as he dialled a number in his cell-phone.

Gon only blinked in confusion. He observed Killua as the silver-haired boy plastered the receiver of the cell-phone on his cheek, his face obviously eager. When his call was finally answered, his face lit up and there was a gleam of excitement in his cat-like eyes.

"Senritsu, it's me."

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: Soooomehow, I just felt that I must pitch in the onsen part =P Sorry if it isn't too detailed. But do you all see Kuroro starts being more honest with himself? Yeeee, I'm so sorry for the late update because I've been busy with my university application. Troubles just never cease to come my way. Tsch…_

_**Next**__: What kind of plan did Killua have in mind? He even called Senritsu, Kurapika's ex-colleague and friend. Things would get more interesting as old (good and annoying) friends gathered for expected (and unexpected) reunion. _


	17. Chapter 17: Festivals

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter, much to my dismay_

_**Story so far**__: The duo bumped into Gon and friends in Hanzo's country. Kuroro then made a proposition to Killua, for Kurapika's sake. Killua accepted it with an unusual condition, but it appeared that he had a plan. How would things turn out?_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 17**

_**FESTIVALS**_

_**

* * *

**_

"What is this?" She asked with her brows furrowed.

"They are called yukata." He answered calmly.

"I know that. What I mean is: why are you giving me this?"

Kurapika said that demandingly and with grumbles as she picked up the said yukata gingerly with her hands. It was a bright blue yukata with the patterns of yellow and red butterflies. Somehow, the colour reminded her of her tribal clothes.

"We are going to the festival this evening."

"Why?"

Kuroro did not answer it straight away. Of course he could not tell her the real reason why he told her to go to the festival with him. If he did, she would definitely flare up and refused to go, jeopardising his plans.

"Don't tell me that it's one of your fancy, whimsical ideas of having some random fun." Kurapika asked him with suspicious eyes, interrupting his recollection of his deal with Killua.

"If it is?" He challenged her as he folded his arms across his chest with an amused smile.

Kurapika sighed and looked at the yukata in front of her. She traced a yellow butterfly pattern with her thumb, feeling the unique fabric of the yukata thoughtfully.

"I guess going to a festival in a foreign country isn't such a bad idea. After all, Hanzo has gone through the trouble of getting us here during the festival season."

Kuroro raised a fine eyebrow. It was so rare that he could get away easily with her pressing, demanding questions. It looked like she was really in a fairly good mood.

_Well, maybe lady luck is really on my side this time._

* * *

"Uum…Danchou?"

"Shalnark. How goes the investigation?"

"It's alright, but before that…Why are you dressing up like that, and standing in the middle of the corridor like this? Where's Kurapika?"

"She's the reason I'm out here; she chased me out of the room since she's changing into yukata as well." He answered as he gestured his head to the closed bedroom behind him where Kurapika was in. "As for your first question, we are going to the festival in the downtown area. Then, what do you find?"

"Festival?"

Shalnark had only blinked in confusion when a feminine voice answered in his stead.

"As expected, they station Ninjas all around the National Museum. It's impossible for us to break in quietly. Although not all of them are Nen users; in fact, hardly any of them are, I think they are still more capable than those Mafia goons that we usually face."

Machi appeared out of nowhere and landed right next to Shalnark. She raised a fine eyebrow ever so slightly, but asked nothing regarding what she saw. There, standing before her, was her Danchou dressed in a very dark blue yukata. It was the colour of midnight, and it had pale blue geometric patterns on it.

"Hmm…" Kuroro, out of habit, covered his mouth with a hand. "Tell Nobunaga to keep the Ninja Hunter busy during that day, he is the most troublesome one of all. There will be slight change in the plan; her friends are also participating in the operation."

"Friends? As in, those kids?" Machi's brows contracted as she remembered Gon and Killua.

"Yes."

"But why would they want to help out?" Shalnark piped in, not understanding the new development of the situation.

"For her sake, but she doesn't know about it, and shouldn't know. She'll stop them if she knows."

Just then, Kuroro noticed Machi frowning. He had grown accustomed to notice the meaning of her frowns; there were some of her frowns that indicated bad intuitions, and Machi's intuition was peerless.

"Bad intuition, Machi?" He asked curiously.

"No…" She answered slowly. "I'm fine with them participating, but…"

"But?"

"Actually, since the beginning I have felt that something is amiss."

Kuroro raised an eyebrow, the signal for her to elaborate further.

"Yes. It's as if… there is something else that we need. Not that it will jeopardise the plan, but…if we have that 'missing thing', everything will be even better." She slowly articulated her intuition, but still it did not sound right.

Kuroro weighed Machi's words and mulled over it. Machi's intuition had always been accurate, more accurate than anything else. It had never been wrong before, and it was never a fallacy to trust her intuition alone. So, all he needed to do was to find out what the 'missing part' was before due time tomorrow noon.

"By the way, does Kalluto know of his brother being here?" Kuroro suddenly asked.

"I don't know. Should I tell him that?" Shalnark said with an easy shrug.

"Yes. Also, tell him that he is free to visit his brother anytime he wants, as long as it does not affect our plan." Kuroro said with a nod.

"Understood." Shalnark sang as he playfully made a salute.

The younger Zaoldyk boy might be a very new addition to the Genei Ryodan family, but he was already considered a Spider. He even lent a hand in finding the Nen exorcist for him. Kuroro had vowed to himself to take care of his subjects, and he was not going to abandon that self-proclaimed duty. The sliding door behind him suddenly slammed open, revealing Kurapika with her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.

"I've been hearing suspicious things." She stated as her eyes bored piercingly to Kuroro. The man, however, still had his back towards her. She turned to look at Shalnark and Machi. "And why are they here?"

Machi only regarded her coldly and said nothing. Shalnark, however, took his sweet time admiring Kurapika with slightly open mouth. Kurapika was wearing the bright blue yukata as if it was tailored just for her, the maroon obi hugged her thin waist pefectly. Her golden hair had already reached her shoulders. Shalnark had already opened his mouth to say something, but Kurapika glared daggers at him.

"What?" She snapped crudely.

Shalnark froze in his track and did not do as much as a flinch. Machi raised an eyebrow, and Kuroro was intrigued by their responses. He turned around and when he finally saw Kurapika in her brand new look, he was stunned. He stopped halfway and widened his eyes. He scrutinized her from her head to her toe. Kurapika raised an eyebrow, and at the same time she could feel the blush stealthily crawling its way up to her face.

Kuroro opened his mouth to say something, but Kurapika pointed a warning finger at him with her eyes glaring at him. Kuroro then raised his arms in a surrendering manner and wisely zipped his mouth. Machi and Shalnark widened their eyes in a disbelieving manner. That was the first time they had ever seen their Danchou so humble and making a give-up attitude. They exchanged incredulous looks towards each other.

Kuroro Lucifer had definitely changed.

* * *

"You look cute."

Kurapika stopped dead in her track, as if Kuroro had paralysed her with some paralysing poison or the likes. She snapped her head towards his direction and widened her eyes so wide they reached their maximum sizes. Kuroro, who was one step ahead of her, stopped and turned his head to throw a glance at her. A thin amused smile was plastered on his handsome face.

"What?" She hissed disbelievingly.

"It suits you." He rephrased his words and turned away from her.

He began walking again and Kurapika was dragged on. She blinked repeatedly, trying to register the meaning of Kuroro's words although they were one of the simplest vocabularies that ever existed in any dictionaries. They took the quiet road from the Ryokan down to the festival in the downtown area. They walked side by side in peaceful silence as the evening wind brushed past them gently. Both were used to being in silent companionship, and they revelled in it. After a while, Kurapika finally could not contain herself and had to ask THAT question.

"Back then…" She started, reluctance obvious in her voice, "what were you planning to do?"

"Back then?"

"In the onsen…" She muttered in small voice, embarrassed to even say it.

"Ah..." A small smile tugged Kuroro's lips as he came to understand of what Kurapika was hinting about. "Nothing."

"No—nothing?" Kurapika blinked disbelievingly.

"Nothing. I was just fooling around." He shrugged nonchalantly, but nonetheless the smile was still on his face. It was, however, unseen by Kurapika.

"You? Fooling around?" Kurapika frowned. It was very unlike Kuroro Lucifer to do such childish act. "You never fool around."

"You looked so gullible, I couldn't help it." Kuroro threw her a sideways smirk, but he said nothing more.

"Gullible? I'm not your toy!" She protested and started to incoherently grumble with a pout.

Seeing her response, Kuroro chuckled softly. That gesture only served to make Kurapika grumbled even more fiercely. As soon as they reached the entrance to the festival, they were both greeted by unexpected and expected people.

"Kurapika!"

Kurapika looked up and upon seeing the person who had just called her name, she froze in her spot. There, standing with Killua, Gon, and Leorio, was Senritsu. The melodious voice from earlier unmistakably belonged to her. They were all dressed in the local yukata, ready to have some fun. Kurapika, however, looked as pale as ghosts. It was as if the blood was drained from her face, leaving her face ashen pale. She stopped in her tracks, and so Kuroro automatically stopped as well. The man raised an eyebrow upon laying his dark eyes on the small woman. He knew her; she had been there when Kurapika caught him ages ago in Yorkshin City.

Kurapika turned violently to Kuroro and glared daggers at him. If looks could kill, he would have been gruesomely mutilated by Kurapika's deadly glares eons ago.

"You liar! I thought you said it's just one of your whimsical ideas of having fun."

"I didn't say yes, did I? I just said 'IF it is?'" Kuroro retorted. "However, I didn't know of her involvement in this." Kuroro gestured at Senritsu.

Kurapika gritted her teeth in annoyance. He was correct. In a way, he did not lie to her since he did not answer the question. She was just being distracted and so she did not really pay attention to the fine details of the manner in which he answered. That was, as she often told herself sarcastically, an art that she obtained after travelling with the irritating man for too long. If she got too easy and laid-back around him, she would end up getting tricked by him, again and again; although it was never harmful, still it was vexing.

_The sly man! _She cursed inwardly.

Nevertheless, She knew that Kuroro was telling the truth when he said he knew nothing of Senritsu's involvement in this. She did understand as well; from the way he spoke, that the whole thing about going to the festival was devised by her friends. For what purpose, she had no idea. With a sharp turn of her heels, Kurapika faced the quartet and glared at the trio behind Senritsu. Leorio seemed to have shrunk when her deadly glare landed on him, and the corner of his mouth twitched uneasily.

"What is going on?" She demanded fiercely.

Killua exchanged meaningful glance with Kuroro. They had then unanimously agreed not to tell Kurapika of their deal. Killua had told the others beforehand that Kurapika was not to know of their coming participation in stealing the Scarlet Eyes.

"Let's have some fun together, Kurapika!" Gon said enthusiastically. Killua once again thanked Gon's naïve innocence that served to divert Kurapika's focus away from the 'what is going on' topic.

"With _him_ around?" Kurapika hissed with sceptical tone.

"Don't mind me." Kuroro said flatly.

"How can I?" Kurapika whipped her head to reward him with a super annoyed look. "Your presence is a thorn in my flesh!"

"Kurapika."

The said girl flinched when a hand gently took hold of her hand. Kurapika turned to look down at the small woman standing before her. Senritsu had never changed. She still radiated the same motherly kindness and gentleness that Kurapika had subconsciously craved for. If anything, Senritsu was perhaps the closest that she had as a mother figure.

"Senritsu…" Kurapika's face was contorted into that of a sad expression. "I'm so sorry…"

Senritsu shook her head. She knew what Kurapika was apologising for; for abandoning her and faking her death, and thus deceiving her. Senritsu understood the burden and torments that the young girl had to go through.

"You are still you, Kurapika. But you are now more in control of your self." Senritsu threw a quick glance at Kuroro, who was standing not far away from them (because of the bind, of course). "You are more emotionally mature and composed now." She added while glancing at Kuroro all the while.

Kuroro raised an eyebrow at Senritsu's bold action. He knew the underlying meaning behind her statement; that he was the reason why she had grown up. Kuroro decided to say nothing return and pretended that he heard nothing. It would be wiser to keep it to his heart.

"Why are you here?" Kurapika asked as she held on to Senritsu's hands. It felt so reassuring to hold the woman's hands. They were kind and gentle, and she missed them so badly.

"There is something I need to tell you." Senritsu suddenly turned very serious and looked at her directly in the eyes. "Nostrad is hunting you down."

That one statement grabbed the attention of five of them. Killua, Gon, and Leorio gasped in unison. They only knew that Nostrad was Kurapika's former boss, and was a member of the Mafia. Nonetheless that information alone was enough to gauge the direness of the situation. Being hunted down by Mafia was never a good or easy thing. Kurapika held her breath as the information sank into her brains. She had anticipated it, but to hear it directly was still a shock for her. Kuroro narrowed his eyes slightly. He had seen it coming, but he never expected that he would be _that_ displeased to hear it.

"He discovered that your corpse was a fake. He also knows now that you are a Kuruta. I guess he will try to make you his prize. For him, you are a living artefact worthy of billions of zenni, who can generate enough money to pay for his debts and to help him climb the social ladder." Senritsu continued with the frowns on her worry-stricken face.

"I know…" Kurapika replied with weak voice.

"I hope you really do, Kurapika. Stay as low profile as possible. Fortunately, Nostrad still doesn't know that you are in fact a girl. As long as you declare yourself a girl and never show your scarlet eyes, you should be fine."

Kurapika turned her head a bit and her oceanic gaze was met with Kuroro's dark one. They both agreed on one thing: their list of troubles had just increased by one.

* * *

As they walked around the bazaar, testing many different kind of foods (rather hesitant on Kurapika's part), and trying out many local games (with a reluctant Kurapika), Kurapika was updated with whatever the other three had been doing during the time she was stuck with Kuroro Lucifer. Gon was still searching for his father; Ging, while Killua still kept him company. Leorio was still wrestling with his medical study, but finance was never a problem anymore with the help of the Hunter License. Senritsu quitted the bodyguard job the moment she heard of Nostrad's plan to capture Kurapika. So did Bashou. They both agreed to split up and search for Kurapika to inform her about it. Since Senritsu managed to find her first; with all due respect to Killua's unprecedented call to her, she would inform Bashou later.

"I have caused so many troubles for the two of you." Kurapika said with her head hung low in embarrassment. She looked at Senritsu and gave her a small smile of gratitude. "But I am really thankful of you."

"Don't mention it, Kurapika. You have saved our lives many times, and besides, that is what friends are for." Senritsu said with a beaming smile.

As Kuroro listened to their trivial stories, he kept his eyes on Gon.

_Where have I seen that face before? No, not exactly the face, but those eyes. Those amazingly determined look was uncommon. Not to mention identical ones, _he pondered. The memories were like grains of sands; the more he tried to grasp them, the more they slipped through his fingers. It was as if the person in his memories was from very distant past.

"By the way, Kurapika, your Hunter License is practically useless now, right?" Gon chirped in.

"Oh. Yeah…" She turned to address Gon and his question. "Previously it was because I was supposed to be dead, but now it's because Nostrad may be able to track me down through my License."

"Then why don't you take mine?" Gon took out his License and offered it to Kurapika.

Kurapika was clearly taken aback by Gon's generous gesture, but she shook her head.

"Thank you, Gon, but no. I can't trouble you more than I already did."

"Don't worry, we still have Killua's License." He reasoned.

"No, I can't accept it. It rightfully belongs to you. It's not right for me to use it." Kurapika firmly said.

"But I am lending it to you willingly!" The spiky haired boy insisted.

Again, Kurapika shook her head solemnly and put her hands behind her back; it was a gesture to show that she would never take Gon's offer no matter what. Gon pouted deliberately, openly showing that he was disappointed by Kurapika's rejection. Leorio then attempted to save the day by cooling down the awkward atmosphere.

"Hey, Kurapika, you should get yourself a phone. That way, we can still get in touch with each other." He suggested.

As Kurapika was distracted by the phone issue, Gon turned to Kuroro; who had been standing by Kurapika's side all the while and observing the whole event. He raised a fine eyebrow as he noticed Gon's intense stare directed towards him. Instead of saying anything, Gon held out his Hunter License to Kuroro. This time, Kuroro blinked to show his failure to grasp the meaning of the little boy's gesture.

"Please keep it for Kurapika." Gon simply said.

Killua frowned at Gon's conscious action. In other words, Gon's action was saying that he trusted Kuroro enough to keep such an important article for Kurapika's sake. Killua's hands were getting very itchy to knock some senses into his brains. Gon seemed to have completely forgotten Kuroro's notorious reputation as the leader of the Genei Ryodan. That, or Gon had decided to ignore that little fact.

"What makes you think that I will accept it?" Kuroro finally answered after a while. "As much as I am an opportunist, since she has declined the offer, I will comply with her wish. Besides, with or without a Hunter License, it will make no difference to me."

Killua narrowed his eyes. _What a conceited bastard…_He begrudgingly thought.

"Besides, shouldn't you respect her decision?"

Kuroro smiled at Gon, and that smile was so amiable that Gon could not help but to feel, in the fleeting moment, that Kuroro Lucifer was really a genuinely kind person. He did keep in mind that the man was a criminal, but it was just so hard to imagine that a murderer and thief like him was capable of such expression.

"I see…" Gon muttered as his shoulders sagged in defeat and dejection. So much as he felt sad that his good intention was rejected by Kurapika, he understood that she had her own reasons.

Killua, meanwhile, had been looking at Kuroro with a hard expression on his face.

"_The expression of the motive…It's not my thing. But honestly, or rather "evidently", that's where the key to self-consciousness lies." _

Killua remembered Kuroro muttering about that when Gon asked him why he could kill people with no connection to him. Somehow, it disturbed him. Why would the leader of the infamous Genei Ryodan say such thing? He had expected to hear something grand, but that was just too simple and cryptic. Also, what the man had been doing recently was really a big question. When Killua had asked him of the reason why he had been helping Kurapika a great deal, he could not answer him properly. It was as if he had no idea on why he was doing what he was doing. His expression of the motive, as Kuroro dubbed it, was completely vague and obscure.

_The key to self-consciousness…He says it as if he is still trying to find self-consciousness. He sounds as if he never questions his motives; no, it was as if he has no motives behind all those plans. This is confusing. He is supposedly a smart guy, since he is able to draw plans that utilise the abilities of his subjects to the maximum. I'm sure he is also the one who plans all those escape plans without leaving behind any evidence. Like a phantom… Then what's with that statement? I thought he's a selfish, greedy bastard, being a thief himself…_

Killua threw a furtive sideways glance towards Kuroro. The said man was now talking with Kurapika, or rather bickering with her, in a very normal way. Outsiders might never expect that the two had once tried to hunt down each other for the sake of killing each others. What an irony; and here they were dressing up in yukata and strolling down a bazaar lane in such ease that they looked more like a couple than bitter enemies.

_Key to self-consciousness…_ Killua frowned. He glanced to Senritsu, who had joined the conversation with Leorio and Gon. _Senritsu described him as someone who lives side by side with death…Someone who accepts death so readily…_

"Is this your student Identity Card, Leorio?" Gon innocently piped in as he looked at a piece of card.

"Yeah. All of us have to have it as a proof of us being a student there."

"Eeeh? So is your school really prestigious?"

As the two chattered on about Leorio's medical school, an idea popped in Killua's head after he overheard a piece of their conversation.

_Identity…? Death…Self-consciousness…The reason why he willingly helps Kurapika… Oh! Could it be?_

Killua looked up as a thought crossed his mind, but then that thought disappeared from his mind as fast as it had appeared when his keen eyes caught a familiar figure. Despite having only seen that figure in a fleeting second, he recognised that person and it raised his alarm. Hurriedly, Killua turned to Kurapika.

"I saw Tompa just now! Hurry up and go!"

"Huh?" Leorio scratched the back of his head "You mean that annoying old man from the Hunter Ex—"

"Heeey! If it isn't Gon and companies!"

As if on cue, Kurapika grabbed Kuroro's arm upon hearing that dreaded voice and hugged it like it was her lifeline Not only that, but she was also able to make Kuroro turn around and away with an unbelievable strength. Leorio, Killua, and Gon hurriedly formed a barricade to cover Kurapika from the view of the dreaded man. Kuroro stared at Kurapika with wide eyes; the girl was practically pressing her body close to his, just like how a lovey-dovey, romantic couple would do. That was very unlike her; in fact, that was something that he would never expect her to do with _him_ of all people. He also noticed the odd behaviour of her other friends, and all these bizarreness started because of a particular man called Tompa, if he heard correctly.

Bemused and curious, Kuroro stole a quick glance over his shoulder. There, behind him and facing Kurapika's friends, was a short, fat man with a nose that looked as if it had been stung by a bee. He was much older than they were all, even older than Kuroro. It seemed that he was an old acquaintance of them from the Hunter Exam days, and they were most reluctant to see him for some reasons.

"To—Tompa!" Gon smiled, but the corner of his mouth twitched nervously; and so did the others.

"Are you all invited here by Hanzo? Ooh, what a reunion we have here. Hm?"

The three stiffened when Tompa leaned sideways to get a glimpse of the girl behind them. He frowned when he saw her, especially when he noted the golden crown of her hair. It reminded him of someone he knew.

"Say, isn't that Kurapika?"

Tompa pointed to Kurapika, and the said girl froze on her spot and squeezed Kuroro's arms out of panic. Kuroro raised an eyebrow upon seeing this so un-Kurapika-like behaviour, but he was too curious to see what would happen next that he postponed the numerous questions that he had in his mind at that very moment.

"N—No! No, no, it can't be, Tompa." Leorio exclaimed while he moved to get her out of Tompa's view. "You see, that is a girl. Kurapika is a boy!"

"Ye—yeah! That's right!" Gon nodded vigorously.

"Well, you're right. So where is he now? I thought he'll be with you, since you guys are always together." Tompa shrugged.

The four started to chat lightly, but what the other three were doing was really to get the conversation out of the Kurapika topic. Meanwhile, Kurapika was listening to their conversation and was blissfully unaware of her hugging Kuroro's arm close to her chest.

"Mind telling me of what is going on?" Kuroro finally asked, since Kurapika had appeared to be drowning in her own little world. He conveniently forgot to remind her of the little fact of her hugging his arm.

"Tompa is a troublemaker. He is notorious for being the newcomer-breaker in the Hunter Exam. Basically, his aim is to destroy the newbie Hunter candidates."

"Hmm…" Kuroro nodded, and suddenly a _brilliant_ idea popped up in his mind. "Does he know that you are a Kuruta?"

"I don't think so. Why?" At the last sentence, Kurapika turned to give Kuroro a sharp look. If anything, she was still somewhat wary of any Kuruta-related issues, especially when it concerned the two of them.

"Well…I was just thinking…" Without even finishing his sentence, which was very rare for Kuroro Lucifer, the man fished out his cell-phone from the sleeve of his yukata and began rapidly typing a message.

_That I have found the missing piece,_ he added in his mind.

Kurapika frowned at Kuroro's attitude. Only when she looked at Kuroro's right hand, which he used to type the message, that she realised that she had been holding on to Kuroro's left arm for a very long while. Rather too hastily, she let go of her hold on his arm as if it was plagued. Kuroro only gave her a sideways glance, but said nothing of it. He only let out a soft chuckle of amusement before he returned his attention to his phone again.

Feeling awkward and out of place, all thanks to Tompa's sudden appearance, Kurapika decided to finger her ring; the one given by Ishtar, and absentmindedly scrutinised it. She looked at the sapphire, which symbolised the natural colour of her eyes. Come to think of it, Kurapika realised that the circumstances had become very strange and peculiar indeed. Just several months ago, they were having some wild cat-and-mouse chase with the Genei Ryodan; and now they were going to some festivals _together._

Kurapika's reverie was suddenly broken when a firefly floated by her face. It hovered around her head, before it drifted away and disappeared among the throngs of people. It surprised her, because fireflies rarely went to a crowded place. Dismissing it as just an insignificant phenomenon, Kurapika was about to return her attention to her ring, when another firefly caught her attention. It was headed towards the same direction as the previous one, she noted. She frowned at the uncanny coincidence.

Over a short while, she began to notice many fireflies around her, and strangely enough the people around her did not notice it. They all went to the same direction, and it could not be a mere coincidence. When Kurapika took a quick look at her ring, true to her suspicions, it glowed dimly red like an ember.

"It's over that hill." A voice rang velvety near her ear.

With a jolt, Kurapika spun on her heels only to find her face a mere inch away from Kuroro's. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing Kurapika caught off-guard; it was very rare of her. Dismissing that notion, Kuroro pointed at a certain hill.

"There. Someone is waiting for us, and that person is the one sending all these fireflies." He stated.

When she looked up, true enough she saw a faint glow at the rim of the forest that sat on top of the hill.

"Come on." Without further ado, Kuroro briskly made a beeline for the hill. Kurapika, having no choice whatsoever, got dragged by Kuroro and thus she had to trail after him forthwith.

* * *

A man was already waiting for them under the shade of a tree, as Kuroro had predicted. His attire was conspicuous enough that both Kuroro and Kurapika could not help but to spot him just as they were climbing up the hill. The man had crimson, silky hair that he tied into a high ponytail. An elaborate golden oriental headdress sat on his head, and it was adorned with many precious gems, which were mostly rubies. Bead of various colour dangled from the headdress, his hair was parted in the middle, and they fall perfectly along he sides of his face. His face was pale yellow, and his narrow eyes were bright golden in hue. His oriental attire was the auspicious colour of red, as in accordance to the Chinese belief, with embroidery of golden threads decorating the robe. He was, described in simple words, majestic in appearance.

"Hello." The feminine-looking man greeted them amiably. Even his voice was soft and gentle like a breeze. "Kuroro and Kurapika, I presume?"

"Yes, and who may you be?" Kuroro asked cautiously as he stepped forward so that he was slightly in front of Kurapika.

"I answer to the name of Suzaku, as christened by the ancestors of humans eons ago." He politely answered with a short bow. Even his manner of speech gave the impression that he belonged to some royal families.

"Suzaku…" Kurapika frowned. "So you are related to the Phoenix?"

"You are not mistaken. She is my distant cousin." He smiled gently at them. "And I am here on her behalf. It seems that she has forgotten to pass something to you." With that, he opened his palm and revealed a tiny egg. It glowed dimly, like a kindling ember.

"And what is that?" Kuroro inquired.

"Exactly as it looks like; an egg. For what purpose it serves, I cannot tell you. I was only given the duty to deliver it to you."

Suzaku stepped forward and handed the pebble-like egg to Kuroro, who accepted it in silence. He observed the egg for a while, but upon sensing no malice from it he pocketed it into the sleeve of his yukata. If anything, the egg emitted a kind of serenity from it.

"I assume that Phoenix had already informed you that a child will be born from it, and that you are to bring the egg to Ishtar when the time comes?"

"WHAT?" Kurapika bellowed in indignation as soon as the words escaped Suzaku's mouth.

Surprised, Suzaku only managed to blink in confusion while Kuroro gave a slight frown of displeasure.

"She only told us to bring the child to her when it is born, and she mentioned nothing about egg! So I thought—" Kurapika exclaimed furiously as her face turned beetroot. All her worries and anxiety were for nothing. She had been tricked! Kuroro, despite his calm demeanour, was equally pissed off in the inside.

"Oh? That is not how it is supposed to be." Suzaku seemed surprised by it, but he chuckled with amusement. "I see that my cousin has been playing pranks on you."

He laughed softly at Kurapika's expression.

"But then again—" He started, but abruptly stopped mid-sentence when he seemed to realise something.

"Then again?".

"No…Nothing." He smiled apologetically.

While Kurapika grumbled furiously and was vowing to get even with the Phoenix someday, Kuroro frowned.

"You said 'when the time comes'?"

"Yes. You will know it by heart, so do not ask me because I know not."

* * *

He watched their retreating backs in silence as they made their ways towards the crowds in the bazaar, while arguing about something. Really, when they were dressed in such plain, common clothes, they looked like nothing but a perfect couple.

"It's very unlike you to give anything to a human, Suzaku. A protective charm, no less." A deep voice came from behind the Oriental Phoenix.

Suzaku did not even bother to look at who was speaking, since he already knew who it was.

"Seiryuu."

The owner of the deep voice was a tall, lanky man with ridiculously long, straight hair with dark tint of deep blue hue. He wore azure oriental dress with dragon embroideries decorating the luxurious dress. He wore a headdress that resembled the carving of a blue dragon, with a sapphire embedded on his forehead. He descended from the sky and landed next to the man in red. When compared to Suzaku, Seiryuu seemed to look more youthful than Suzaku was, while the latter looked more sagacious.

"That girl…" Suzaku muttered. "She is very prone to nightmares. She will be a perfect prey for Nue."

"Nue, huh?" He looked towards the direction where Suzaku was looking at. "I see. Is that why you gave her a Baku charm?"

"Yes. With that kind of nightmare from her past, she will require various aids against it. She needs more than self-retrospect; she needs a very long interval to recover from it. The scar is too deep."

"And to think that she is travelling with the man that scarred her soul." Seiryuu chuckled in amusement upon the irony of the situation.

They stayed in silence for a while, observing the festival from distance away.

"By the by, you almost slipped a little." Seiryuu said.

"Yes, but by good fortune I remembered just in time," Suzaku closed his eyes, "that piece of future is so confidential that it must not be told to them no matter what."

"Actually, it's not like it's up to us to decide how their future will evolve. Even if we told them, they might or might not change. It's not our right to decide which path is to be taken to reach which future. There are countless different futures that lie ahead of humans. Whichever future they choose, it won't affect us."

"But is it a sin to have a preference on what future they choose? I cannot help it…"

"You are too soft, Suzaku." The youthful celestial man grinned.

"They say that when a person hates someone so much, that hatred can turn into love. Do you think that will be the case for them?"

"Who knows?" Seiryuu shrugged offhandedly. "You are asking the wrong person. You are Suzaku, the one gifted in the art of divination in this land. You should know better than I do."

"I'm just asking for opinion, Seiryuu. Is that so hard?" Suzaku gave him a hard glance.

"If it's personal opinion you want, then…" The dragon-man looked up and observed the duo again. "I guess that's the case."

* * *

"All you need to do is simply to stand and watch," was what Kuroro told Kurapika about the plan of stealing the Scarlet Eyes. Even without her asking him, Kurapika knew that Kuroro was really going to employ his Spiders to do the dirty work. She was against it, but what could she do? It was practically impossible for her to claim the Eyes with honest method. If she was really determined to collect all pairs of the Eyes, she had no choice but to resort to dishonest works.

And the Genei Ryodan was exactly the right group to do that dirty job. After all, they were specialised in it.

On the Grand Opening of the National Museum, they all went as a group but Senritsu did not come as she had other things to attend first. She promised Kurapika that she would catch up later, though. Kuroro deliberately took Kurapika into an exploration tour around the Museum, separating her from her friends. It would be too suspicious if they immediately perched themselves around the Scarlet Eyes. When they finally got into the hall where the Scarlet Eyes were showcased, Kurapika's friends were already there.

Kuroro briefly reviewed the situation in the hall. There were some Ninjas posted there as guards, and so direct stealing would be imprudent. Besides, he was sure that a handful of them were bound to be Nen users as well. When he felt that everything had fallen into the right setting, he turned and his gaze met Killua's.

The night before, Killua had slipped him a piece of paper that contained his phone number. Incredulous as he was towards the Zaoldyk boy's bold action; considering his initial wariness, Kuroro understood Killua's intention of making plans with him. The plans had been formulated, and now it was time to turn it into action.

Kuroro gave Killua a short nod, which Killua responded with a mischievous grin. He turned to Gon and Leorio, who both nodded very slightly in response to his unspoken order. Without wasting a word, they parted ways and pretended to inspect various things: Leorio stood by the Scarlet Eyes, while Gon and Killua parked themselves on other random artefacts. As Killua saw that Leorio was already in his post, Killua whispered very lowly:

"Senritsu, now."

Outside the grand Museum were Senritsu, who was standing with Shalnark.

"Killua said it's time." She relayed the message to Shalnark.

"Roger." The youth nodded in enthusiasm.

He turned to his modified phone and pressed a single button: Send message. In less than a second, a message reached the phones of the Spiders who were already standing-by in their own respective positions. There were only two words in the message:

MISSION INITIATED.

Answering to their cue, the Spiders made their moves.

"_It seems you have begun to accept that man. Your heartbeats tell me so." _Senritsu whispered so to Kurapika a moment before they parted ways in the festival last night. Kurapika denied that statement vehemently, but Senritsu only gave her a knowing smile.

_Since when…?_ Kurapika pondered as she stole a furtive glance at the said man, _have I begun to accept him?_

Suddenly, an explosion broke Kurapika from her reverie and shook the entire building violently. All the guests screamed in horror as they saw debris of walls tumbling down from the upper floor down to the hall. Torrents of bullets showered the upper floor, and shadows broke into the building. The Ninjas responded to the chaos fairly quickly; the leapt from the hall up to the upper floor, but what they were really doing was to deliver their souls to Death. The ordinary Ninjas were, in no time, either hacked into pieces by unseen Nen strings, or turned into a honeycomb due to the barrages of Nen bullets, or mutilated by passing small shadow, or had their heads twisted into some strange angles, or any other equally gruesome methods.

From below, Kurapika could see the passing shadows in black mingling with the dark blue-clad Ninjas. For the ordinary citizens' perspective, it might look like airborne clashes of black shadows, but for Kurapika's trained eyes she could clearly see the Genei Ryodan pummelling the hoards of Ninjas like swatting away some flies. What she did not understand was why the Spiders were all dressed in black and had their face covered. That was not like them.

"Your friend has seen them with us in the airport. In order to alleviate suspicions, I have them conceal their appearance." Kuroro explained to Kurapika in a very low voice; one that could be heard only by her.

That explained everything. Still, Kurapika was highly displeased by the fact that so many people were dying. In no time, the hall was dirtied by the gore and corpses of the fallen Ninjas. Most of the guests, at least those who had sufficient strengths in their legs, had made their escape towards the entrance gate. Some were just too shocked that all they could do was merely to sit like a fool on the marble floor as they watched the massacre with horror-stricken eyes.

A fleeting shadow dashed into the hall and a petit figure landed just next to Leorio. The figure of a thin boy leapt to the stand where the Scarlet Eyes were perching, and was about to dash away when Leorio intercepted.

"Hey, you! Stop right—"

It was only an act, really. Leorio was supposed to act surprised and tried to follow the boy in pretended act to take back the precious artefact. However, he was either too serious with his job, or too taken aback by Leorio's harsh bark, that he kicked the poor man square on the cheek and sent him flying and crushing into the wall.

"Leorio!" Kurapika bellowed as she made her way to unfortunate Leorio, dragging Kuroro all the way by the means of their invisible bind.

Kuroro flashed a look at the boy and with a timid nod, the figure dashed away to continue with the plan. Killua, however, caught a glimpse of the figure's uncovered eyes and recognised him.

"No way…" Killua muttered in surprise. He recovered from his shock quick, and without sparing a single word to Gon, he took off to run after the figure.

"Killua!" Disregarding everything, Gon also dashed to follow Killua out of the building.

Kuroro saw everything as he stood next to Kurapika, who was busy tending to the bruised Leorio. He could not care less about the lanky man who unluckily got kicked by one of his subjects. A small smile of satisfaction tugged at his thin lips. Everything was exactly as planned.

* * *

"Is the area cleared?" Phinks called out at his comrades.

The ones doing the killing and distracting job were Machi, Phinks, Coltopi, Bonolenov, Shizuku and Feitan. Franklin's job was only to blow the wall and made the entrance for them, while Shalnark was on the lookout outside. Nobunaga was off to distract Hanzo away from the Museum. Machi looked down and upon seeing the Scarlet Eyes were gone, she gave him a curt nod.

"Then we have nothing else to do here." He casually said as he took hold of the head of one of the Ninjas and, with a sickening crunch, twisted the head and consequently sending the man to make his maker.

"Let's get out of this place. These people are really boring. Is this what the famous Ninjas are capable for? Nobu should be ashamed." Feitan snorted derisively while dispatching another Ninja down to the Hall, which had turned into some Ninja-dumping site.

"Well, some of them aren't so bad, you know." Shizuku chirped innocently as she pointed at the gash on her arm.

"Here comes the better one." Phinks announced as a Nen-user Ninja dashed towards them. "He is mine!"

"No. Mine." Feitan swished past Phinks and was about to cut the Ninja's abdomen with his thin sword when the Ninja's body twisted into some strange deformation to avoid the lethal attack.

"What?" Feitan raised an eyebrow.

"My turn!" Phinks exclaimed and after turning his right arm a few times, sent a super-mega-deluxe-hard blow to the chest of the Ninja.

Instead of scattering into unrecognisable pieces of flesh, the body was merely dented like clay. With a huff from the Ninja, the body turned back into its former glory.

"No way!"

"Transformation type. Looks like he applies the property of clay unto his body." Shizuku piped in.

"Gah! I hate Transformation class. They remind me of that traitorous creep!" Phinks yelled.

"You, heathens! How dare you defiling our proud Museum! You will pay for it!" The Ninja exclaimed and he charged towards Phinks.

Before he could claim any glory by inflicting any damage on Phinks, his outstretched arm fell down from his shoulder, and blood gushed out of the open wound. As the poor Ninja screamed the air out of his lungs, Machi stood casually on the balcony with her hands holding to the invisible Nen threads of her.

"Even clays can be sliced with strings." She said coldly. With a flick of her wrist, the Ninja was reduced into minced meat, and fell down to meet the same fate as his other comrades down there in the Hall.

"Hoo…Scary." Phinks whispered to Coltopi, who said nothing in return as usual.

"We are off." Machi announced with her voice as piercingly cold as any ice stalactite. She turned and began to walk away into their make-shift entrance made by Franklin.

"And don't forget to leave IT behind."

* * *

"Leorio, are you okay?" Kurapika asked as she briskly inspected the wounds that he might have gotten.

"Do I look okay?" Leorio snapped. "Shit, it really hurts. I thought some wild horse has kicked my face."

"Your face looks just as usual." She said flatly.

"Excuse me? This is the second time you've said that!" He bellowed in indignation. The first time, of course, was during the Hunter Exam.

As they bickered incessantly about it, Kuroro observed the upper floor. His Spiders had gone, which meant it was about time that they discovered the scapegoat that he had prepared. True enough, as an army of security guards and more Ninjas made their ways to the upper floor once the Genei Ryodan had retreated, one of them called out from above.

"We've got one of them! It's this man!"

A Ninja landed on the Hall soundlessly, much like how Killua usually did. The commotion grabbed the attention of both Kurapika and Leorio. When they turned around, they saw the Ninja rudely dropping a burden from his shoulders onto the floor. Kurapika was befuddled and disbelieving, for she could not believe that a Spider let him or herself get carelessly captured. Upon laying her eyes on the man, however, Kurapika knew that her incredulity had not been wrong.

"Tompa?"

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: If you read Fushigi Yugi, you may be familiar with Suzaku and Seiryuu. So, Suzaku is a Phoenix, and Seiryuu is a dragon. They are members of the Shishin or the Four Guardians of the Four Compass Directions. Interested? Google them =P Nue are a kind of Japanese chimera that sometimes to curse people with nightmares, while Baku is a creature that devours nightmares. You'll hear more of them in the coming chapters since our main characters here are going to stay longer in this Japan-like country. Expect to see more Japanese mythical creatures! XD For any Ninja-lovers out there, I'm terribly sorry if I had undermined the capability of your beloved Ninjas. I just thought that we are talking about the Genei Ryodan here. Who else can stand up against them except for Kurapika, and the senior members of the Zaoldyck family? =P They even pummelled down the Injuu like they were nothing._

_**Next**__: Just suddenly, Tompa was deemed as the one responsible for the commotion in the National Museum! Just what had Kuroro planned that Tompa got dragged in it? Also, why did Killua suddenly follow a Spider? Aside all those, it seemed that Killua had just figured something about Kuroro._


	18. Chapter 18: Journey in the East

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Hunter x Hunter, much to my dismay_

_**Story so far**__: Unexpectedly on Kurapika's part, Kuroro had dragged Tompa into the whole mess of stealing the Scarlet Eyes. Also, in the end Kurapika-Kuroro party parted ways with Gon's party once more as the circumstances forced Kurapika and Kuroro to spend more time in that country._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 18**

_**JOURNEY IN THE EAST**_

* * *

"Explain yourself!"

Kurapika was close to screaming at Kuroro, but the latter seemed nonchalant about it. In a way, he was already used to Kurapika yelling and screaming at him. After all, he had been travelling with her for almost several months already.

Currently, they were already out of the Museum. Senritsu took the liberty of tending to Leorio, while Shalnark went off to meet up with his comrades.

"There is nothing much to explain. First, we needed distraction so that Coltopi could get the chance to copy the Eyes and so that was what the attack for. Second, we need a scapegoat so they won't try to track down those who attend the opening. It will be a problem if we get tracked down. Third, if the Scarlet Eyes is the only missing item, it will raise suspicion and they will try to track down people related to the Eyes. In the worst case scenario, they may track you down, since you are the last Kuruta alive and you are registered as Kurapika Kuruta in the Hunter Association."

Kuroro turned to give the livid Kurapika a full look in the eyes. He could see the seething anger in those oceanic blue eyes, but he could see that they were not on the verge of turning scarlet. He had deliberately let out of the fact of her friends helping out with plan, and he could only hope that she did not see through it. If anything, the girl was getting better in seeing through his play of words.

"Satisfied?" He gave him a pleasant smile, which she responded with a deep, hostile scowl.

"So why did you lie to me?" She harshly demanded.

"Lie?"

"You said you were not going to loot the place!"

"I never confirmed so. I merely responded to your statement; nothing more nothing less." He grinned smugly at her, and her visage never softened.

Kurapika had no qualms about Tompa being the scapegoat of the whole thing; after all, that slimy man could slither his way out of the troubles like he usually did. She was never fond of that man, anyway. She was more displeased by the fact that she had been careless with his play of words again. She had to remind herself again and again not to assume the implication of his words. She felt utterly stupid before him, and it irked her tremendously.

She had to grit her teeth and clench her fists to prevent herself from lunging at his throat in attempt to strangle him to death. Kurapika inhaled deeply and exhaled soundly. It was very apparent that she was trying to cool down herself that Kuroro could not help but to sigh at the scene.

"It's for your sake, Kurapika. Don't think too much of it."

As he said so, he patted Kurapika's silky golden hair lightly before he turned and walked away casually. Kurapika, instead of bristling with anger, had turned frigid the moment Kuroro did that gentle gesture. No, actually it was not the first time. There had been other occasions where he did so. Still, it was always something that she would never get used to.

_For my sake? How…_Even if she did not want to think of it, everything came to her without even much effort. All those meticulous planning was for her sake; he made sure that she would not get into troubles at the end of everything. Kurapika stared at the retreating back of the man clad in black; the back that she had gotten so used to see in her long journeys with him. Like it or not, she had to accept this one little fact that she had just discovered.

He was protecting her.

_No, it can't be. _She thought as she shook her head slowly. _Ultimately, it's just for his convenience._

* * *

The airport was packed with tourists and staffs; both local and international. It was bustling with various activities; people walked briskly here and there, they greeted each others, they exchanged handshakes, hugs, and kisses, and many others. Amidst this throng of people was a ragtag group of six. Four of them had luggage with them, but the other two showed no sign of boarding any blimps.

"Kurapika, what are you going to do next?" Leorio asked, ignoring Kuroro who was standing slightly behind Kurapika. He did so to graciously allow her more private spaces with her friends.

"I guess we'll have to stay in this country for a longer while."

"Why?" Gon chirped in with the curiosity of a kindergartener.

"Looks like there are still some Scarlet Eyes in this country." Kurapika answered, her voice smooth and controlled. "I'm going to collect all of the Eyes here before moving on to the next destination."

"That's quite the workload. Tell us if you need any helps, Kurapika! We are your friends. You should ask us anytime." Gon enthusiastically implored the blonde.

"It's true, Kurapika. You should appreciate your friends more." Senritsu added.

Killua, all the while, had his eyes set on Kuroro. The man seemed to be in a trance or the like. He was not really paying attention to whatever was going on between Kurapika and her friends. He was sure, however, that the man heard every single word that was being exchanged among them.

_It's a big guesswork, but it's worth to try…_he thought.

Killua glanced at Kurapika's direction. She was still preoccupied by Senritsu and Gon, who were telling her to keep in touch as they had gone as far as buying a phone for her. He then took this chance to approach Kuroro and spoke softly with him.

"Say…Are you actually trying to find your real identity?"

Kuroro raised an eyebrow, not understanding the boy. "Explain."

"You are someone who puts the interest of yourself and your gang above all else, but you once commented about 'where the key to self-consciousness lies', back then in Yorkshin City. That is just contradictory."

"And?" He was getting amused by the boy's explanation.

"If you are ready to discard yourself to death, it may mean that you don't have any value of yourself. Or rather, you are never thinking of yourself. In other words, you are a completely selfless person."

"Should I take that as a compliment?" Kuroro said with a dry chuckle, and Killua swore that he could sense the coldness in his voice. It was a coldness that had never been present when the man talked with Kurapika, so far as he had observed. Despite that, Killua pressed on.

"Considering all those, and when you said that you simply want to help Kurapika… It makes me wonder: What do you plan to do with Kurapika? What are your plans about her?" Killua paused for a while, before continuing with even lower voice: "Are you trying to find out the motive of your actions?"

"You are sharp, Zaoldyk boy. It's true that I am finding myself thinking of things that I have never considered before. And I realized that it happened shortly after I started travelling with her. It intrigues me, so I want to see how far things will go."

"You are curious about the changes that occur in you?" Killua asked with his eyes growing wider in every second that passed.

"Hmm…" Kuroro put a hand over his mouth; his thinking gesture. "You can say so."

_This guy is definitely weird!_ Killua thought to himself as he stared at Kuroro with wonderment.

Killua had a conclusion in his mind: that Kuroro Lucifer decided his missions based purely on his instincts, that he had no real, tangible motive behind his actions, that he was doing things for the sake of others, not for himself. And that was why his lack of self-consciousness. Regarding Kurapika, Killua suspected that Kuroro Lucifer was finding his means of discovering his self-consciousness via her, that the man was finding his reason of living through her, absurd as it might sound since Kurapika was someone who wished him dead the most.

"And to answer your question: I am just doing what I want to do, like I have mentioned before." He added calmly.

_The expression of the motives…is certainly a troublesome concept. Why do people need to explain their motives into plain words? _Kuroro pondered at the same time. _After all, people are simply doing what they desire. _

He looked up to steal a quick glance at the girl whom he had been travelling for the past few months. _And I am simply doing what I desire._

"I don't know if it's appropriate or not." Leorio suddenly said with small voice, getting the chance as Killua was still lost in speech.

Kuroro heard him and turned his head to look at the tall boy. Leorio was speaking with his eyes looking down at his feet; the tell-tale sign of hesitance. Despite his old-man impression and look, he knew that Leorio was only a few years older than Kurapika. 19? Or 20 perhaps? Kuroro knew, from the corner of his eyes, that the short woman and Gon were still keeping Kurapika busy with their lectures or the likes.

"But please take care of her."

Leorio looked up to give Kuroro a full stare in the eyes. Kuroro could see the determination in those eyes, despite Leorio's obvious reluctance to say those words. Killua raised an eyebrow, while Kuroro suppressed a chuckle and instead maintained his mask of indifference.

"That is not what I expect coming from you."

"We used to be enemies, correct. But considering the circumstances, and Kurapika's personality, she won't let us look after her. She can be totally reckless at times, despite being obnoxiously smart and all-knowing. I guess you are more of the composed type, so you'll have to watch out for her."

"Your worries are unfounded." Kuroro flatly said.

"I can't help it! But all those aside," Leorio gathered his courage to take some steps further to approach the man. "If you dare lay a finger on her, I won't let you get away so easily."

"Now that's more like it." Kuroro smirked at him amusedly.

Leorio's jaws dropped unceremoniously upon hearing those words. Soon enough, his face was already burning in embarrassment. Kuroro was already heading towards Kurapika. He spared Leorio a final sideways glance, and gave him his answer.

"I only promise something that I know I can keep."

* * *

"Really, will it be okay to leave her with that incorrigible, fickle, dangerous man?" Leorio asked dubiously as he looked over the shrinking scenery of the airport from inside the blimp.

Truthfully, after a long while of pondering over Kuroro's last words to him, Leorio finally discovered what the man was trying to tell him. And it made him truly uneasy. The fact that Kuroro Lucifer was saying that he did not promise not to lay a finger on Kurapika just drove him to the edge of his composure, and perhaps sanity.

_Damn, he didn't have to be so annoyingly cryptic, did he? _

"There will be troubles. Definitely." Killua said deadpan.

"I thought you said we shouldn't worry about them?" Gon asked, as innocent and clueless as ever.

"What Killua is trying to say, Gon, is that it is inevitable for conflicts to arise between people. Even you and Killua get into fights from time to time, right?" Senritsu explained to him with her maternal smile ever on her round face.

"Yeah…" Gon nodded.

"But I agree with Killua. They will be just fine."

"How can you say it so confidently, Senritsu? All I can see between them is impending bloodshed." Leorio said with narrowed eyes. "And verbal assaults."

_Yeah, of course. They are both smart-mouthed. I'd like to see it when they are having some verbal arguments. That'll be quite the view._ Leorio snorted in dry amusement.

"O-san, you are just too blinded with jealousy." Killua, who had already seen through Leorio, grinned from ears to ears.

_But I'm more worried over the possibilities of that man being too possessive of Kurapika, seeing that they have travelled for so long and judging from his behaviour around her…_ Killua added in his thought, not daring to speak it out loud in case he might receive a very bombastic reception from Leorio. _And I never thought that Kuroro guy can be so surprisingly dense_, he thought again as he rolled his eyes quietly.

"W—WHAT?" Leorio was already fuming, but it was undeniable that his face was already blushing furiously.

"But Leorio," Gon spoke up again, "I didn't see any hostility coming from Kuroro."

"Not you too, Gon! Didn't you say that you despise the Genei Ryodan? So why are you siding with him now?" The lanky man was close to shouting in exasperation.

"N—no, I don't—"

"Gon does hate the Spiders. But Kuroro, as a person, is not so much as a despicable person as we once thought." Killua shrugged as he looked over the distant ocean below that they were crossing.

"Yeah. I don't think he intends to pick a fight with Kurapika." Gon said with vigorous nods.

"Gon, you are too naïve." Leorio massaged the bridge of his nose. "He may not feel like fighting her now, but who knows if that man changes his mind and decides to finish her off? He is dangerously fickle, I'm telling you!"

"Her safety is guaranteed as long as the bind is there, O-san." Killua said with slight exasperation, as he was getting tired to remind Leorio again and again.

"Yeah, but—"

"In any case, they have both changed. Their heartbeats have definitely changed." Senritsu turned to look over the window of the blimp, down towards the vast ocean below. "Especially that man."

"What's so different about him previously and presently?" Killua asked with a raised eyebrow. That man had always been hard to predict, and it had never changed in Killua's perspective.

"Previously, he seems hollow to me; like an empty casket. Maybe the reason why his heartbeats sound as if they are embracing death is exactly that: his life is empty, meaningless."

"Wait a minute. Are you trying to say that that cold man has finally found something, or rather someone, to cherish in his life, and therefore he is trying to live on because his life is now worth it?" Killua asked, although he had his suspicions that he was more than correct. If Senritsu confirmed his suspicion, he did not even need to look for the answer to that question of his.

Senritsu only turned to him and gave him a sweet, motherly smile.

"Heartbeats don't lie."

* * *

Killua pressed his forehead against the cool window of the blimp. As he closed his eyes, he could remember vividly the scene that took place just yesterday in the National Museum. It was very disturbing, and it vexed him that he could do nothing about the circumstances.

"Kalluto!"

Upon hearing his name being acknowledged by his beloved brother, the slim figure ahead of Killua obediently halted into a stop. Killua, likewise, skidded into a stop and waited until the boy willingly turned around the face him directly. Gon soon caught up with him and found themselves in the copse that was on the vicinity of the Museum.

"What's wrong, Killua?"

"It's Kalluto." Killua answered with strained voice. "My younger brother."

"Your younger brother?" Gon cocked his head sideways as he tried to remember. "I thought you have a younger sister?"

"No, it's a brother. Only he is a victim of my mother's fanciful obsession of dressing him up in girl's clothes."

"That's not it!" Kalluto turned around and protested. "You know that it's because I have a weak constitution, and so it is a charm to make me get better!"

"Feh. Superstitions." Killua snorted in scepticism. "Anyway, what are you thinking? Joining the Ryodan like that. Didn't Father warn us to stay away from them?" He barked at him harshly.

"At least my motive of joining them is not a rotten one! I'm trying to find our brother!" Kalluto retaliated.

"Which brother?" Gon innocently asked, but he earned a hateful glare from Kalluto.

"My younger brother, his older brother. The name's Alluka." Killua answered Gon briefly, before he turned back to Kalluto.

"You are cruel, brother Killua! How can you just abandon brother Alluka like that?" Kalluto demanded emotionally.

"Abandon him?" Killua raised an eyebrow. "Come on, give me a break. Alluka ran away from home, just like I did. That can only mean that he was fed up with the family and he merely wanted to get a new life. What's so wrong in it?"

"But what if something happened to him?"

"He is a Zaoldyck. He can take care of himself just as good as any of us can." Killua said coolly, although Gon did sense a tinge of worry in Killua's voice albeit so fine and faint.

"But—"

"No buts, Kalluto. Get away from the Spiders, it won't do you any good. Besides, how can you search for him when all you do with them is just to go around stealing and killing?"

Upon hearing those, Kalluto's face was contorted into a mixed expression of great displeasure and mild anger. He straightened up and pulled his expression into that of a cold one. With his chin held high, he threw the Eyes to Killua, who caught it with ease.

"_Danchou_ told me to give it to you." He said while emphasising on the word 'danchou'. He then began walking away.

Killua had his eyes fixed on his brother's retreating figure, and a confused look was apparent when he saw the sudden change of Kalluto's demeanour.

"Oh, and brother?" Kalluto stopped and spared him one cold stare. "Don't say things about people when you don't know anything about them."

With that, Kalluto took off and disappeared from their sight. In that fleeting moment, Gon noticed that the coldness in Kalluto's stare was identical to that of Killua's when he is deeply pissed off. Well, after all they were brothers, weren't they?

"That man has predicted this." Killua suddenly said. "He arranged it in such away so that I would run after my own brother, got the Eyes, and gave it to Kurapika later."

"Really?" Gon said in a surprised gasp as his mouth formed a big 'O'.

"Heh. Kurapika should really be careful around him. Such a sly man." He muttered to himself. "Come on, Gon. We should give this to Kurapika. She'll be happy to get this back."

"O—okay…"

And so they returned to their Ryokan and put the Scarlet Eyes in Kurapi

* * *

Evening was falling and two people were busy packing their backpack in their rented room in a certain Ryokan. According to schedule, they had to depart as soon as possible to reach the next prefecture where their next target was located. A knock suddenly came to their sliding door, interrupting their silent activity. With Kuroro's permission, Shalnark slipped into the room. As usual, the youth bore the ever present grin on his cheeky face.

"I've got some news." He announced. "Which one do you prefer, bad news first or good news first?"

"Bad news first." Kuroro answered calmly like it did not matter.

"As requested." He nodded, as if he was not going to disclose some bad news at all. "Well, apparently some of the Scarlet Eyes in this country have been lost from their owner. So, bad thing is it will be harder to scour the land in search of those Eyes since we are completely unfamiliar with the terrains."

Clouds of gloom quickly took their place around Kurapika's head. She hung her head low upon hearing that news; it would be indeed a very daunting task to comb the whole country to look for those Eyes. Kuroro, however, did not look as troubled as Kurapika was. If anything, he seemed unaffected by it.

"And the good news?" He asked with composure.

"The good thing is you can take your time to get those Eyes without worrying about the new moon, and well…" He made a crooked, unsure grin. "Kurapika doesn't need to go through all the troubles of stealing those Eyes?"

"Relieving her of her moral burden, is that what you want to say?" Kuroro chuckled in amusement upon seeing that his Spider was actually concerned about the chain-assassin.

Instead of giving him a verbal answer, Shalnark only gave a sheepish grin. Kurapika stared at Shalnark in pure disbelief. Why would he take that as good news at all? It shouldn't concern him so he shouldn't include it as any news at all. If it was Nobunaga, he would have gladly taunted her with the fact that she would have to literally look in every nooks and crannies of the country for those Eyes, just to spite her. It was true, though, that Shalnark was the one Spider who had visited them the most from time to time. Was he getting too familiar with her, or what?

"Well, in any case, I'll try to look more into this matter. See if I can get more information on the whereabouts of those Eyes. I'll inform you as soon as possible, Danchou." Shalnark stated confidently as ever.

"Very well. You are dismissed." Kuroro nodded.

"Then, see you soon!" Shalnark chirped as he turned away.

As soon as Shalnark was gone, Kuroro frowned slightly. Things sure had gotten more complicated. Kurapika sighed in defeat.

"What now?"

"What indeed?"

Those two lines were exactly as they muttered a few months ago in the cave where Hassamunnin had first cursed them with the bind. It made them feel that they had returned to the beginning and had to start over again. It was true in a sense, since they were starting from a scratch there in a foreign land.

"For now, I guess we need to stay in this Ryokan until we hear more from Shalnark." Kuroro finally said after a while of silence as he folded the pieces of paper and stuffed them into his pocket.

Kurapika could only accept it with slumped shoulders. In the end, they had to go to the receptionist and said that they wanted to stay longer for indefinite time. They spent the evening quietly, each of them busying themselves with their own activities. Kuroro buried his nose in a book that Shalnark had recently brought for him. Kurapika, meanwhile, was trying out her new phone; a present from her friends. They had also given her their contacts beforehand.

"Having troubles?"

A recently familiar voice suddenly broke their concentration in their activities and both looked up in alert. They had not detected a single presence before, not until they heard the voice. In the garden that their room overlooked was Suzaku, dressed in the exact same attire as he had worn during their first meeting. His visage was that of an amused expression, and his eyes were glinting with curiosity.

"And how does that concern you?" Kuroro asked calmly.

"Excuse my intrusion, but I am here to offer my assistance."

He was so polite and refined that Kurapika could not refuse his presence, even as he took a seat on the terrace right in front of their room without permission. Kuroro gave the Oriental Phoenix a measuring glance, before he approached him and took a seat near him. Kurapika followed him, but she sat furthest from Suzaku.

"And what manner of assistance are you offering us?"

Suzaku smiled charmingly at him, but instead of answering Kuroro, he turned to Kurapika.

"Girl, do you still have the charm that I gave you?"

"Huh?" Kurapika blinked. She then hurriedly tugged at the string that was looped around her neck and soon enough produced the charm that he spoke about. It was a necklace with a lone magatama made from a material that Kurapika could not recognise; it had a sandy colour, yet it felt like tusk upon her touch. Suzaku gave it to her the night they first met on top of the hill that overlooked the downtown festival.

"Yes, that one. Pray take great care not to lose it for it is not easy to obtain that particular one. Although the two of you are armed with your own protective charms," Suzaku continued as he took Kuroro's hand and fingered Kuroro's ring delicately with his thumb, "I am afraid that they will not be of any help here, in a land where your charms do not belong to."

"Thank you for your kind advice." Kuroro said flatly as he drew his hand away from the other man's clutch.

Hilarious as it might look, Kurapika dared not to laugh out loud. Instead, she suppressed even the smallest snort of glee and maintained a cool face. She returned the magatama necklace to its previous spot beneath the fabric of her clothes.

"But why is it that I am the only one given this charm?"

"Do I take that as a notion that you wish him to be equally protected?" Suzaku teased her. "How sweet of you."

"N—no!" Kurapika protested furiously, but her face was already betraying her by turning faintly scarlet.

"Fret not, young lady, for your companion here does not require any form of protection for the time being as he is not in immediate danger." Suzaku waved a hand playfully.

"Immediate danger?" Kuroro narrowed his eyes.

He looked at Suzaku, and the latter turned to smile at him. However, Kuroro could see that beneath that carefree visage that the man donned, there was a degree of seriousness. He meant what he said, and Kuroro was sure that if this humanoid mythical creature deemed the situation as dangerous, it had to be seriously dangerous. He even went to a great length of giving Kurapika a special protective charm, after all. What bothered Kuroro was the implicit meaning behind Suzaku's words; that there was a great danger that threatened Kurapika, but he himself was safe from it. What would it be?

"I only hope," Suzaku said again, and this time it seemed to be directed to Kuroro, "that my fear is groundless."

"_Your_ fear?" Kuroro looked at him with more questioning gaze. What could have made the highly respected Suzaku of that country so agitated?

"Well!" Suzaku suddenly stood up and clapped his hands. This gesture took Kurapika off-guard slightly, and Kuroro even blinked in surprise. "In any case, shall we meet tomorrow morning at the northern gate of the city? From then onwards, your guide I shall be."

"Do you even know what we are after?" Kurapika asked incredulously.

"Certainly so. After the commotion you have caused in the National Museum yesterday, one will wonder if none of us know of you and your quest pertaining the Scarlet Eyes." Suzaku laughed heartily, and his laughter rang like the chimes of bells.

"Us?"

Suzaku only responded to Kurapika's whimsical question with a mystifying smile. He swept his arms wide and soon he was engulfed in golden lights. Instinctively, Kurapika and Kuroro covered their eyes from the blinding light.

"If you have no objection, tomorrow noon it is, then."

That was Suzaku's final words before he took his leave. Kuroro hurriedly opened his eyes and for a fleeting moment he caught the golden trail that Suzaku had left behind as he flew away.

* * *

Having no choice in the matter and seeing that there was no better option, both agreed to follow Suzaku's instruction and meet him in the northern gate. When they reached the place, the said man was already waiting for them. Kurapika was half-anticipating him to be dressed up in the same attire, but Suzaku had wisely donned a somewhat normal attire; an oriental-themed one.

"I have taken the liberty of investigating the matter, and my effort bears fruit." He immediately said with his velvety voice, after proper greetings of some sort had been exchanged briefly. "Of the five Scarlet Eyes scattered in this land, two of them are lost. You have one in you possession from the National Museum, there is one in the west and another one in the east."

"And so what do we do now?"

"We are going to visit the west first, it is closer than the east from here."

As he said so, Suzaku began to walk in the direction of the dense forest that was lying not far from the border of the city. He had purposely left out the little fact that he actually knew the whereabouts of the two lost pairs of Scarlet Eyes.

So the three walked in silence towards the forest; both Kuroro and Kurapika did not question the direction to which Suzaku was taking them. They knew that being a celestial creature, Suzaku was bound to the power of his speech; he was bound to follow it down to the letter. If he promised to help them, he would do it. They trusted him enough to let themselves be blindly guided by him.

"We are going to take a shortcut." Suzaku suddenly declared as he stopped in his track.

"And?" Kurapika asked slowly. If they were going to take shortcut, Suzaku could have just walked on without saying anything. It was not really necessary to announce it.

"Well, it is imperative that I warn the two of you beforehand, since the shortcut we are going to take is not any ordinary path." Suzaku turned to give her an enigmatic smile. "Come along."

They followed after him as he stepped towards a certain location. Near his feet were two uncanny small stacks of stones that stood almost like tiny landmarks. Suzaku stood just one step away from those stones and stared into the darkness of the forest that was before him. He lifted an arm as he started to chant almost inaudibly. Kuroro and Kurapika looked on curiously; Suzaku was certainly up to something extraordinary.

When he seemed to have finished chanting, there was a gust of wind blowing from the small imaginary path squeezed between the two stacks of stones; as if the wind had blown from a small alley between two massive buildings. Kurapika and Kuroro could practically see the air vibrating and twisting as if it was heated, but it was only for a fleeting moment. The next second, everything had already returned to normal.

"Behold the Ghost Path that I have just opened for you." He said proudly as he moved away to allow them full view of the said path.

Kurapika went frigid while Kuroro narrowed his dark eyes. There, between the two stacks of stones, time and space had seemed to be tweaked and a door leading to another dimension seemed to have opened. While the scenery was generally the same, there was undeniable air of eeriness and the stench of wandering spirits was almost suffocating as thin spooky fogs floated about.

"The Ghost Path you said?" Kuroro asked with his gaze still fixed on the small gate between the two landmarks.

"Yes. There is no place in this country that this path cannot reach. However…" He said as he stepped into the said path with his hand beckoning at them to follow after him.

Kuroro and Kurapika exchanged a quick glance of wariness, but nonetheless both unanimously decided to move on and faced the 'challenge'. After all, it was a 'no pain no gain' situation. Once they stepped into the path, the gate behind them closed and they found themselves in the same forest, but in a different space; there were thin white mists swirling about them; moving and dancing as if they were alive. Kurapika wrinkled her nose as she caught the smell of burning incense; it was the type that was burned in front of the altar of the deceased and during the funeral ceremonies. Kuroro looked around and spotted some hunched figures walking around with their heads hung low. He was not sure whether it was his eyes or because of the fog, but those figures seemed to be transparent.

"As how it is appropriately named, this is part of the world of the dead but only a small section of it. And so be warned and never stare for too long at those dead spirits because once they fancy you, in one way or another, they will fight to keep you here with them."

"So why are we taking this road again?" Kurapika asked with strained voice as a spirit had just brushed past her; no, it had just brushed _through_ her.

"Granted that you do not lose your way, you will reach your destination very much faster. As long as you are with me, I can guarantee your safety." Suzaku said confidently and he began to walk again.

Almost too hurriedly, Kurapika trailed after the Oriental Phoenix. Kuroro silently followed behind. Now and again he stole some furtive glances at the residents of the Ghost Path. They seemed fairly normal looking; at least they looked humane enough despite the ghastly aura surrounding them and the heavy glooms that hung like a kind of backdrop around them.

"In too many occasions, unlucky humans stumble into this realm. It will be a good fortune if they manage to find their way out, but if they dawdle in this realm for too long a period, their living spirits may have deteriorated too much that it will be a toilsome task to mend them." Suzaku said quietly and sadly, for he had seen too many of such cases.

The two humans listened to his stories quietly. They were wise enough to perceive that they were in the situation where they were practically at Suzaku's mercy. If he wanted, he could just abandon them there for the dead spirits to feed on. For a few moments they continued their spooky journey, when suddenly Suzaku looked up and stopped. Kuroro and Kurapika almost instantly and in synchronization halted just behind him.

"What's wrong?" Kurapika asked warily.

"It seems…" Suzaku turned and smiled apologetically to them, "that I must leave you for a moment."

Kurapika's eyes had seemed to widen so drastically that Suzaku had to quickly add:

"But I will make sure that you reach your destination safe and sound."

As if answering to its cue, a creaking sound of wheels could be heard echoing throughout the narrow alley where they were standing at that moment. Soon enough, a hazy figure of an ox-carriage could be seen from distance. As it drew nearer, Kurapika's eyes widened yet again at the scene she beheld.

Looming before her was an ox-carriage with a huge misshapen woman face in front, blocking any entrance into the carriage itself. Despite being described as an ox-carriage, it had no oxen attached to the carriage at all.

"What…" Kuroro started as he stared at the grotesque vehicle with disbelieving eyes.

_Oooh…Suzaku-samaaaa…_ The woman face spoke, her high-pitched voice trembling in unearthly delight. _It has been so looong… So very looong…_

"This is Oboroguruma. She will take you to your destination in my stead."

_I will follow any duty you give me with all my heart…_The woman wailed in what seemed to be fondness towards Suzaku. _Anywhere, anytime…My beloved Suzaku-samaaaa…_

"Good girl, Oboroguruma." Suzaku chuckled and caressed the woman's cheek without a single tinge of disgust in his expression, gesture, and speech. "You will take them to Saikyo?"

_Anything for you, Suzaku-samaaaa…_ The woman said again in her slurry voice. She then turned her face to Kuroro and Kurapika; who in unison stiffened once she laid her massive, evil-looking eyes on them. _Enteeer, my guests…_

Without even a single word of warning, the woman opened her mouth wide open and lunged at them to swallow them whole. Out of reflex, Kuroro seized Kurapika's waist rather too roughly and jumped away from the 'assault'.

"Oh dear…" Suzaku covered his mouth with his hand while donning an innocently shocked expression.

"What was that for?" Kurapika screeched while she was still dangling by her waist in Kuroro's arm. "Suzaku!"

"I apologise for not explaining to you, but that is the method that Oboroguruma uses to carry her passengers." He said with amused chuckles.

_Honoured guests, please do not make my task harder…_The woman face said in a rather threatening gesture as she frowned at them and approached them slowly, her wheels creaking in a ghastly manner.

"It doesn't look all that safe." Kuroro commented dryly.

"Well, the result justifies the means, no?" Suzaku smiled at them and this time round Oboroguruma made sure not to give them any chance to run away.

She swallowed them whole and full with her gaping mouth and even licked her crimson lips with delight, as if she had just tasted the finest cuisine served before her.

"Now, Oboroguruma, do not disappoint me." Suzaku patted the huge head once again.

_Never, Suzaku-sama…I'd rather die than to let you down…_She leaned towards Suzaku's hand as she enjoyed the affection.

"Well then, off you go. Tell them that I will contact them as soon as possible." He said as he patted the carriage twice with more strength, as if to encourage her.

_I will… Take care, Suzaku-samaaaa…_Oborogurumo bowed her head and drove away into the thin mist and finally disappeared.

"Now…" Suzaku turned and walked away. "I wonder what Kirin-sama wants to discuss with me?"

* * *

_How do you feel, honoured guestsss? _The voice reverberated in the small room which was the inside of the Oborogurumo carriage.

Kurapika felt that she was hearing another version of Basille's slithery voice.

"Do we look like we are in any comfortable positions?" She muttered in great annoyance as she lamented on the fact that she was lying on the wooden floor supine with Kuroro ON TOP of her. That was exactly how they found themselves inside the carriage right after they were swallowed by Oborogurmo.

_Well…_

"You! Get off!" Kurapika barked at Kuroro.

"Don't scream to my ears, Kurapika. I am not deaf." Kuroro said as he picked up his body from on top of Kurapika and adjusted himself so that he sat with his back leaning against the wooden wall of the carriage.

Kurapika scowled fiercely at him, but said nothing to verbally abuse him like she usually did. The reason was because it was not the first time that Kuroro was on top of him and she did notice that the man seemed to have no qualms in touching her; but she was too embarrassed to directly complain to him about that matter. Conclusively, she decided to keep it to herself while bombarding him with glares only.

Briskly, Kurapika seated herself with her back against the opposite wall facing Kuroro. They stayed in silence for a while, keeping their counsels to themselves.

_We have arrived at you destinatiooooonn…_ Oborogurumo suddenly announced, and they could feel the carriage decelerating smoothly into a stop.

"So fast?" Kurapika blinked in surprise. It was only some passing minutes and they had already reached their destination.

_I do not disappoint Suzaku-samaaa…_ Oborogurumo said, pleased with her achievement. She then opened the back door of the carriage and they actually got to get out of the infernal carriage in a normal way. Kurapika begrudgingly thought that the demonic spirit could have at least let them enter in the equally sane way.

As soon as they were out of the carriage, they could see the small gate that led to the human world. Both hurriedly make their way out of the Ghost Path and Kurapika was secretly relieved that they were out of the ghastly place for good. They found themselves standing on top of a hill facing a great city down the hill. Kurapika marvelled at the grandness of the city, and so did Kuroro. The city was magnificent in its ancient structure and architectures, especially with the twin-towered castle that stood majestically at the heart of the vast city. Kuroro knew then; the moment he laid his eyes on the castle, that the Scarlet Eyes were definitely there.

Oborogurumo, being a spirit and thus was unable to get out of the Ghost Path easily, looked at them with contemplative look on her grotesquely misshapen face. After a while, she finally made up her mind.

_A piece of advice well-meant from me, honoured guestssss…_ Oborogurumo suddenly said with a degree of seriousness in her voice.

Kurapika and Kuroro turned to face the demonic spirit who was lingering at the gate of the Ghost Path.

_Beware of the Spider that invested this region…_ And then she disappeared into the Ghost Path once more. The path soon closed behind her, and everything went back to normal. The wind blew peacefully around them, and the atmosphere did not show any hints of dangers whatsoever.

"Spider, she said?" Kurapika asked with dubious voice and a deep frown to Kuroro.

"Spider, she did say." Kuroro nodded, although his expression was that of a befuddled one as well.

"Well, there is one right here." Kurapika muttered wryly as she turned to walk away towards the city just below the hill.

Kuroro only raised an eyebrow at her attitude and said nothing else. He merely followed Kurapika down the hill in silence.

* * *

They were scarcely out of the hill when they ran into yet another trouble.

After a few paces down the hill, suddenly Kurapika felt something tugging at her shoulders. She tried to shrug it, but it persisted. Suddenly, just so suddenly, she was roughly jolted and soon found herself airborne. Kuroro, who was tied to her by the means of the bond, was dragged along. Out of surprise, Kurapika cried out.

It was a hilarious scene for any present viewers; two very different people in appearance bouncing in the air as if they were two fishes that got caught in a fisherman's bait. It was not at all hilarious, however, for the two of them. Kuroro landed on the solid ground gracefully on his legs with a soft thud, but Kurapika's feet never touched the land. When he looked up, he saw her hanging upside down among the branches of tree with fine silky threads weaving themselves around her swiftly. The bind had extended up to a good 6 metres by then; and ample space to allow Kurapika hanging there while he was safe on the ground.

"What—" She began, but was cut off by the eerie giggles of another female.

_Ohoho… Look at what I have caught. A pretty little girl full of energy… _The silky voice said, so smooth and velvety that it raised the hair on Kurapika's nape. _So deliciously full of life essence and power…_

A lady dressed in fine, jet-black silk-floss kimono appeared from the darkness of the forest and on top of a tree branch close to where Kurapika was hanging upside down. Her movement was slick and swift, as if she belonged to the tree and was used to moving among branches despite her refined look. Her skin was deathly pale, and her deep black eyes were faceted like that of an insect. Her impossibly long hair was draped over her shoulders and past even the branch of tree where she was standing on. Instead of long eyebrows, they seemed to have been shaven and replaced by two black, uncanny dots on her forehead where her eyebrows were supposed to be.

Within several rapid movements, Kuroro was already behind the scary lady with his stiff fingers touching her nape in a slicing position; ready to decapitate her whenever he wished.

"Let go of her, Jorou-gumo." Kuroro said with a very dangerous edge in his voice. Kurapika blinked when she heard this drastic change in his tone. She had never heard him sounding so menacing before. Moreover, he seemed to know the woman.

_Ah…_ The creepy lady sighed sensually as she turned to look at the man with her wholly-obsidian-black eyes.

She looked at Kuroro with great interest as she smiled alluring at him. Kurapika shuddered when she saw that smile; instead of seductive, it was more venomous. Her beauty was deadly, and Kurapika was sure of it. The woman parted her thin, heavily rouged lips and cooed:

_If it isn't the Anansi boy._

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: I know that there are many contradictories about Kuroro here, but I can't help it. He is not really a simple character after all. Even if this is my fic, he still belongs to Togashi-sensei, and I still don't understand his character fully. I hope that slacker of a mangaka can quickly finish the Chimera Ants Arc and starts doing something related to Kurapika and the Genei Ryodan. Just a trivia, Saikyo is one of the ancient names of Kyoto. Also, regarding Alluka, I know it may not be accurate, but that's what I saw from the forums in the internet regarding the fourth son of the assassin family. And the charm that Kalluto spoke about, it is an ancient Japanese belief that if a boy with weak body is dressed in girl's clothes, he will get better._

_**Next**__: The creepy woman called Kuroro the Anansi boy, and he called her Jorou-gumo, which meant Spider Lady. What did she mean? Was she related to Kuroro in anyway? And what would become of poor Kurapika?_


	19. Chapter 19: The Spider Lady

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own HunterxHunter, much to my dismay._

_**Story so far**__: Searching for the Scarlet Eyes in the foreign land, they were destined to meet yet another set of the local mythical creatures. But what would they do if one particular demonic spirit had taken great, pernicious interest in them?_

_**WARNING**__: There will be some graphic violence in this chapter. You have been warned. Don't blame me if you lose your eating appetite._

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**Chapter 19**

_**THE SPIDER LADY**_

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* * *

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"A—Anansi boy?" Kurapika stuttered in confusion. What the heck did that mean?

Kuroro narrowed his eyes even more.

"Jorou-gumo…" He said with glacial voice. Even if she was an evil spirit of some sort, the woman could sense the underlying icy threaten in that velvety voice. It was a final ultimatum, and she understood that it would be complete foolishness not to bend to the boy's wish; for the moment, at least.

With a flick of Jorou-gumo's twig-thin wrist, Kurapika was at once released from the spider webs that hugged her like a protective layer. She was let go all too sudden that she was not prepared for any landing at all. She landed unceremoniously with a loud thud on the soft ground. She saw twinkling stars for a moment, before she finally shook her head to clear her vision. When she scrambled up from the ground, Kuroro was already in front of her, his back towards her.

"What's Anansi?" Kurapika said in irritation.

"Anansi is a person; or to be exact, he is the incarnation of spider spirit." Kuroro turned to look at Kurapika in the eyes. "He was the one who told me of the 12-legged spider."

Kurapika's heart missed a beat for a fraction of second. She knew that what Kuroro was trying to tell her was that this Anansi person was his inspiration for the Genei Ryodan; the group was based on that idea. Kurapika narrowed her eyes as a thought crossed her mind.

"Was he your mentor, too?" She asked with low voice.

"Sort of." He answered with a nonchalant shrug. "But he didn't stay long. He was with me only for a few months, and then he went away and has never visited."

There was no sadness or regret in his voice. It was as if he could not care less about his mentor visiting him or not, as if it did not even matter whether his former mentor remembered him or not.

_Well then, Anansi boy…What brings you here to this land?_ The woman inquired as she turned to fully face Kuroro. She swayed her voluptuous body sensuously, indiscreetly showing off the prominent cleavage that peeked from her loose kimono. The sight discomforted Kurapika, but she said nothing.

"I am here for a business." He said curtly. "And stop calling me that."

_Why? It suits you…_ She snickered. _After all, you reek of him…_

Kuroro narrowed his eyes into dangerous slits, whereas Kurapika raised her eyebrows. It seemed that Anansi was quite the sensitive topic for Kuroro; for a reason that she had yet to find out.

_At any rate, what business do you have here? I have to know because I am a native and you are an outsider. I have to know of what is going on here in my territory._ She continued.

"_Your_ territory?" Kuroro openly scoffed. "You speak as if you are the owner of this land when you are actually just a bakemono."

_Mm-hmm…_ She grinned demonically at him. _And this bakemono surely knows this territory like the back of her hand. And perhaps…_ She inched closer to him, her body movin in such a sultry way that it made Kurapika feel giddy. _This bakemono can be of any help in terms of your so-called business?_

"What do you offer?" Kuroro said, turning into bargaining mode all of the sudden. All the time, he never flinched even as the woman's ghastly face was a mere inch from his face.

_Hmm…Depends on what you require._ She drew back and straightened her back, rather insulted with the fact that he was impervious to her charm.

"We are looking for a certain item. The Scarlet Eyes; although I don't know what it is called here."

_A treasure?_ She said with piqued interest.

"Of some kind." He nodded. He stole a glance at Kurapika, who had been listening intently all the while. He understood that those Eyes were not merely treasures; they meant the world for that girl.

_I see…_ The woman hummed as she tapped her chin delicately with her spidery fingers. _That kind of items can only be possibly stored in the castle._

"So what can you do about it?" Kuroro challenged her with his arms across his chest.

_And how do you plan to get the item first, boy? _Jorou-gumo asked back.

"Who knows? We are going to look for information in the city." Kuroro started to take firm steps.

Kurapika followed after him in silence, but she kept glancing over her shoulders towards the Spider Lady, who kept a vigilant eye on them even as they walked down the hill towards the crowded city. Everything about her was suspicious, and everything about her gave her the chill. She did not like that woman, not even a tiny bit.

From such distance, even Kurapika's keen eyes failed to catch the malicious grin that the bakemono had and the gesture wherein she licked her heavily rouged thin lips hungrily.

* * *

It was surprisingly easy to get information of the Scarlet Eyes in that bustling city. All they did was to go into a restaurant, ask the waitress fleetingly (which was a job wonderfully done by Kuroro's implacable charms) of any news about peculiar items circulating in the city, and voila! The information inundated them like a flood from a broken dam.

Apparently, the Scarlet Eyes had been the hot topic of the lively city for quite a few months already. It seemed that the lord of the castle had acquired the eyes and since then he had been quite fortunate in his dealings with business and politics. The curious item had since been proclaimed by the lord as his personal lucky charm.

"In other words…" Kuroro said with low voice as he picked a dish with his chopsticks, "it is impossible to get it by negotiation. There is no way that the lord would relinquish such highly-regarded item."

Kurapika only sat in front of him and stared at her food. She had not touched it and merely looked at it with gloomy eyes. Kuroro chose to let her to her own devices; she would speak when she wanted to speak. It was a custom and habit that had been built between the two of them.

"It…" she started with a husky voice that was barely a whisper, "is not supposed to be any lucky charms…"

And then she fell into another long interval of heavy silence. A thick dark cloud of despondency hung about her gloomily, and Kuroro thought that she might break apart at any given time due to the burden of those despair alone.

"I suppose it is not." Kuroro finally said with quite voice. "And that's why we are getting them back."

Kurapika glanced up towards Kuroro from beneath the shadow of her bangs. Was he trying to cheer her up? The man was still enjoying his food, as if his fleeing comment had just been a discarded afterthought.

"Eat up. You can't fight with empty stomach." He said as he motioned at her untouched plate with his chopsticks.

Kurapika stared at her food that was getting cold. Suddenly, her forgotten hunger assaulted her with vengeance and she could hear the faint growl of her protesting stomach. With her face flushed beetroot, Kurapika picked her chopsticks and began to quietly eat her portion of food.

Things had been somewhat peaceful between him and her, and she was starting to enjoy it.

They rented a room in a humble inn, and to Kurapika's despair and exasperation, the maids giggled when they heard and saw the two of them sharing the same bedroom. They could have not exaggerated thing, could they?

"It can't be helped." Kuroro said with a soft chuckle as he saw Kurapika's face contorted into a deep scowl.

Kurapika glared daggers at Kuroro. "You look like you are enjoying this." She accused him.

"Mm-hmm… Perhaps." He muttered softly and with a grin on his handsome face.

_God, give me strength._ Kurapika massaged the bridge of her nose with deep irritation. _This man is annoying the hell out of me, and he is having fun at my expense._

And so they slept on separate futon without any 'goodnight' being exchanged.

Kuroro had just slept for a few meagre hours when he heard unsettling rustles coming from the futon next to him. He thought that the girl was having yet another nightmare; it was getting like an occasional habit. At the beginning of their journey, the occurrence was quite often that Kuroro had thought that he might never be able to get any undisturbed sleep as long as she was with him. Over time, the nightmares started to come less often and less intense. Sometimes he just caught the girl hugging her knees quietly and seldom spotted her frail-looking shoulders tremble ever so slightly.

He decided to leave her alone, for she had the tendency to shrug him aside crudely when he prodded her about it. He had no wish to volunteer to become the victim of her verbal abuse again. However, the rustlings never ceased and instead it was getting more and more noisy and unsettling.

"Kuroro?"

The said man flashed his eyes open. He knew that his hearing was still perfect, but he was dubious of himself when he thought that Kurapika's voice almost sounded pleading. That girl never pleaded to him. With suspicions, Kuroro turned around to see what had gotten the girl so nervous, and when he did see, he found himself beholding a very peculiar scene.

Kurapika was standing on top of her futon, her sleeping yukata hugging her thin form loosely. What made him dumbfounded was the impossible number of tiny spiders surrounding her futon. Strangely, his futon had been left out to his peace. He looked at Kurapika, and the moment their eyes locked on each other, he was looking straight into her magnificent Scarlet Eyes. Kuroro took this chance to marvel at the beauty of her eyes; they never bored him. He was convinced that Kurapika's pale face and her golden crown of hair completed the beauty of her priceless eyes.

"Do something!" She hissed.

Apparently, as he quickly noted, she was fighting the urge to turn the whole room into a ship-wreck state. She was not afraid of those spiders; she was fighting the demons in her self; her wrath and bloodlust that were revived every time she saw a spider. This time, by golly, she was looking at thousands of them.

Kuroro himself was not very sure on what he should do in that situation. If he made any sudden movements, those arachnids might just jump at the Kuruta girl and drove her into frenzy. Very quietly and slowly, Kuroro sat up and conjured his Skill Hunter book. He flipped the pages until he found the page he desired, and he looked at the spiders with a degree of uncertainty.

_I have never tried this, but it never hurts to experiment, _he thought.

Very quickly then, he used Teleportation on those spiders. He managed to send away most of them, but quite a few of those eight-legged creatures were left behind. They scurried towards Kurapika, but the girl quickly conjured her Dowsing Chain and bashed those small insects into unrecognised bits and juices. Unfortunately, she had not seen one huge spider crawling behind her. Kuroro spotted it and was about to alert her when it suddenly jumped onto her back. Kuroro widened his eyes in horror.

Kurapika screamed at the top of her lungs; a scream that could have awakened the dead inhabitants of a whole graveyard.

"Where, where?" She screeched as she frantically jumped about, trying to shake off the spider crawling all over her body. "Get it off me, get it off me!"

"Kurapika, calm down!" Kuroro quickly got up and tried to take hold of her but she swatted his hands away.

"Get it off me!" She continued screaming. "AAAAAAH!"

Her movements became even more vigorous as the spider crawled on her back underneath her sleeping yukata. Hoping to prevent her from destroying the whole room in her attempt to get the creature off her body, Kuroro seized and locked her waist with his left arm while he pressed her head to the crook of his neck with his right hand.

"Quiet." He ordered firmly. "I'm taking it off you."

Kurapika immediately turned as stiff as a stick and whimpered pitifully in his arms. She grabbed two fistful of his yukata as she clung to his back. Kurapika buried her face into the crook of his neck, trying to suppress her terror. Carefully, Kuroro started to slide the sleeping yukata off her shoulders, taking care not to disturb the arachnid perching on her back. He spotted the creature right away as it was a stark contrast in colour with Kurapika's milky white skin.

Kuroro's right hand carefully approached the spider by tracing Kurapika's smooth back down from her shoulder. The girl herself was too preoccupied with the thought of a spider plaguing her back that she took no notice of Kuroro's hand which was inadvertently caressing her back.

As soon as the spider was within reach, Kuroro grabbed it and squished it until its juice was all over his hand, ending its pathetic life almost instantly. He could feel Kurapika melting into jelly in his arms out of relief that the spider was finally off her back. It was only then that he realised that she was practically a quarter naked as half of her upper torso was exposed.

_Wait, not yet, _he suddenly told himself as he remembered one thing. He began tracing Kurapika's back with his left hand's fingers as he tried to locate any possible bite marks on her back. The girl, however, shuddered when Kuroro did it so delicately that she had to push him away and slapped him hard on the face.

SLAP!

"Sexual harassment!" She screamed.

"Don't get me wrong!" Kuroro rubbed his abused cheek as he protested. "I was trying to find if you have been bitten or not!"

"I have not!" She retorted, but her face was already glowing red in embarrassment, like a neon lamp.

"You never know. You were concentrating so much on getting _this_," he brandished whatever left of the spider in his right hand, "off your back that you did not pay attention to anything else."

"What is going on?" The door to their room was already crowded with the neighbouring guests and the maids.

"Spiders." Kuroro flailed the corpse of the spider at them in annoyance.

The quests and maids screeched as they beheld the gruesome remains of the spider and flew from the scene with great haste. Kuroro sighed; suddenly he felt so tired. He walked to the window that overlooked the garden and tossed the corpse carelessly out of the window. He wiped clean his hand with the tissue papers that were provided in the room.

"Come on, let me check." He said softly to Kurapika as he turned to her again.

"Why do you care?"

Kuroro rolled his eyes heavenwards and instead of answering her sceptical questions, he grabber her by her shoulders and spun her so that her back was towards him. He began to quickly scan the whole back with his eyes and trace it with his sinewy fingers.

"H—hey!" Kurapika began to protest as her face started to blush furiously. She had to suppress a shudder that threatened to come when Kuroro's cold fingers touched her lustrous skin.

"Nil." Kuroro said sharply. "Next."

He straightened up and used Gyo on Kurapika. He looked at her closely from head to toe and upon seeing that there was nothing out of place about her, he only then allowed himself to relax a bit.

"Now you use your Gyo on me and see if there is anything odd." He told Kurapika firmly.

Kurapika could feel the air of authority in his speech, and she decided not to be defiant this time. If Kuroro was that serious, surely it was something important. Obediently Kurapika looked at him closely with her Gyo, but only after she had adjusted her sleeping yukata; with a blush still on her visage, into its proper place. Sure enough, she spotted a very fine thread that clung to Kuroro's shoulder.

"A thread?" She muttered as she picked the thread gingerly from his shoulder.

"Spider web." Kuroro said flatly as he examined the thread with his Gyo. "Jorou-gumo's doing."

"But why?"

"A simple trick, it is a trademark of many spider spirits or incarnations." Kuroro said as he flicked away the thread and it soon dissolved into nothingness. "They usually distract their preys and attach that kind of web on the preys, which ultimately will serve to either trap them or to gain control of them."

Kurapika gave him a look.

"Anansi's teaching?" She asked with trained voice.

Kuroro gave her a mystifying smile.

"In any case," he said with quiet voice, "Jorou-gumo owes us an explanation."

* * *

_I was curious. _She answered them when they came to interrogate her the next day at the same hill where they had left her before. _I want to see how she will react to that many spiders. Your reaction will be a boring one, boy, seeing that you have spent considerable amount of time with Anansi-sama, you ought to be very used to the sight of multitude of spiders. _

Despite her haughtiness, Jorou-gumo was obliged to respect Anansi to some extent since Anansi was, in all truth, of a higher office than she was.

Kuroro knew that the woman was not telling all the truth, but he said nothing of it. He had also notified Kurapika not to mention anything about the thread, for a purpose that he wanted to pretend not to know of it in order to catch her off guard.

_And so how about the item that you seek?_

"It's in the castle." Kuroro said as he gestured at the tall castle sitting at the heart of the city.

_How do you plan to take it, then? Surely it is not for public display?_ Jorou-gumo taunted him with a sneer.

"Break in and steal it. Quite a straight forward method." Kuroro shrugged uncaringly.

Kurapika felt squeamish at the thought of her degrading herself into some burglar, but she was determined to steel her hearts in order to fulfil her vows. Like Suzaku had said; the result justified the means.

_In that case,_ Jorou-gumo said as she approached and touched Kuroro's shoulder. She then leaned to his shoulder seductively and whispered to him with her sensual voice. _I can help you a great deal, boy, provided that you can get those annoying insects out of the safety of the castle._

"You mean the guards? Surely you can take care of them easily anywhere, seeing that you consider this territory as yours." Kuroro said with a wry smile directed at her, while again he seemed unaffected with the Spider Lady's attempt to charm him.

Jorou-gumo's face darkened as she gave a terrible scowl.

_I would have made them into a dish long time ago if not for those accursed, filthy incantation papers!_ She hissed with hostility.

"The o-fuda?" Kurapika piped in. "They employ monks and exorcists as guards of the palace?"

_Them, and people like 'you'. The whole castle is invested by those o-fuda, I can't take a single step in the castle's compound._ She spat the words with vengeance as she glared at the castle with her faceted eyes burning with hateful rage.

When the spider woman mentioned 'people like 'you'', both of them understood that she referred to Nen users. Without telling each other, the two of them shared the same thought; they would be up against quite a number of troublesome people.

_In any case, Anansi boy._ Jorou-gumo turned to Kuroro once again, the raging loathing in her eyes had turned into measuring cold light. _If you want my help, shepherd those who pursue you to the waterfall that is in this forest. I will get rid of them for you. _

"I suppose this is not a free-of-charge service?" Kuroro shifted so that he supported his whole weight on one leg.

_It goes without saying that I do not do charity works,_ the demonic spider incarnation said with a smirk and Kurapika caught a flash of hunger in those otherworldly eyes. _But I will have my rewards at the end of the day._

Kuroro narrowed his eyes in suspicions. "…I see." He said after a short pause.

_So it's a deal?_ Jorou-gumo asked with eagerness in her ghastly voice.

"Deal."

* * *

Kurapika sighed heavily as she looked at the towering castle before her. She was going to commit another robbery, but no matter how much she loathed the job, she was well aware that she had little choice in the matter. Nothing ventured, nothing gained; as the old adage said.

"Ready?" Kuroro asked beside her.

She sighed again as she willed her eyes to turn bright scarlet. "I guess so."

"Let's go, then."

With that, the two daredevils marched towards the front gate of the castle. The guards stopped them as they brandished their katana. By then, Kurapika had her eyes closed as if she was blind while Kuroro led her by her hand.

"Halt! State your names and business!" One of the guards said with loud voice.

"I am here to show something that will surely interest the honoured Lord of this castle." Kuroro said with perfectly trained and smooth voice.

"Show us first." They demanded strictly.

"If you insist." Kuroro said with a thin smile as he turned to Kurapika. "Open your eyes."

Obediently, as if she was the servant and he was the master, Kurapika fluttered her eyes open and gazed at the guards with her burning scarlet eyes. The guards gasped unceremoniously and they exchanged a quick look at each other before they sent a messenger to the lord.

In no time, Kuroro and Kurapika found themselves inside the compound of the majestic castle. They were brought into one of the two towers of the castle. Kuroro looked around and spotted numerous o-fuda plastered here and there in every corners of the castle. He also saw the monks and exorcists, and some Nen users who were standing guards everywhere. It seemed that Jorou-gumo had not been joking when she said that the defence of the castle was terribly thick.

They were ushered to the lord's office for a private meeting. The lord, a middle-aged man with a thick black bush of beard clinging to his face, was sitting at the furthest end of the grand office, with two Nen-user guards by his side. Inside the office was a mixture of Nen-users, monks, and exorcists who all guarded the exits and the windows. Kuroro noted that it was all as he had predicted.

"My guards said you have something very interesting to show me?" The Lord inquired while keeping a sharp, penetrating eye on Kuroro. His eyes were like that of a hawk, but Kuroro gave him a daring, polite smile.

"Indeed, Honoured Lord." He bowed as per the custom of the people there.

Without being told to, Kurapika once again pried open her eyes slowly but surely, and directed her piercing gaze at the lord of the castle. The Lord gasped in delight and surprise as he beheld those burning orbs of hers. He looked at her eyes with openly awe-stricken visage. Her eyes even earned the fierce whispers of praise from the guards who happened to catch a glimpse of her eyes.

"What will you have in exchange of her?" The lord asked while still keeping his eyes on Kurapika.

"First, may I inspect the pair of Eyes that is in your possession?" Kuroro asked with his head still bowed.

Without hesitating, the Lord motioned at his slave boy to bring the Scarlet Eyes from the safety fault. The boy scurried away and soon returned with the Eyes perching in his small hands. Kurapika's gaze shifted at those eyes, but she reined her emotions with perfect control and resumed her bored, expressionless mask of indifference.

Kuroro received the item and in no time affirmed that it was indeed the original Eyes. His lips curled up in satisfaction, and upon seeing this, Kurapika knew that it was her cue. She took the Eyes with her and tucked it in the safety of her left arm, while her right hand held on to Kuroro's left hand. The Lord raised an eyebrow at their antics.

"Well?" He asked impatiently. In his mind, he thought that if the Eyes alone could bring him such fortunes, imagine what kind of lucks would shower him once he had the living girl with those alive Eyes in his possession. The thought itself distracted him from any good senses.

"Well then, we shall take our leave."

With that, Kuroro summoned forth his Skill Hunter book and opened the Teleportation page. Before the guards could react, they had disappeared into thin air. In no time, the castle was plunged into untold chaos as they scoured the castle for those insolent thieves, but they were nowhere to be found.

* * *

"The city! Search the city!" Coarse voices could be heard from the streets of the busy city of Saikyo.

"They are coming." Kuroro said with cool voice.

Kurapika stuffed the Scarlet Eyes into her backpack and tied it securely. Kuroro already had his backpack with him and he was ready to move any time. They had teleported directly to the room they rented in the inn. With great haste, Kurapika packed everything and when she was ready anytime, she gave Kuroro a look of determination.

"Let's move on."

* * *

"Delegating the dirty work to me, aren't you?" He said casually as he dispatched another man to his death.

Kurapika frowned at the sight. "I vow to kill only the Spiders." She said deadpan as she knocked out another guard with her Counterattack Chain.

"Hmm…" He hummed in a sing-song tone. "But you have already killed a man before, you know? The day when you turned back into your girl identity."

The image of the dead man she killed quickly flashed in her mind. In her panic at that time, she had accidentally crushed the man's skull. Kurapika cringed at the unpleasant memory.

"It was unintentional." She said in her defence.

"Of course." He said, mocking her.

They were already on their way to the forest where the Jorou-gumo was residing. True to their predictions, the Nen-users were in hot pursuit of them. The better ones managed to catch up with them and attempted to take them down but instead they were unluckily eliminated by Kuroro. The lucky ones might only get slight concussions or several deep lacerations from Kurapika's merciful attacks.

"Stop, you thieving rogues!" One of the pursuing men shouted at them.

"Right. Like we will stop." Kurapika rolled her eyes.

Soon enough, the waterfall was within their eyesight and both of them eagerly made their way to the said waterfall. When they were really close, Kuroro narrowed his eyes and upon realising something crucial, he went closer to Kurapika and held his left hand to her.

"Give me your hand."

Without giving a second thought; something that she would later berate herself as it showed her trust in him, Kurapika grabbed Kuroro's hand. Just as they were about to jump to the waterfall, Kuroro used Teleportation. The men who were behind them skidded into a halt very near the waterfall. Still huffing and wheezing from their vigorous activities, they tried combing the area near the waterfall for any sign of the two burglars.

A branch of the tree near the waterfall quivered slightly as two people suddenly landed on one of the high branches. Both of them quickly turned into Zetsu mode. Kuroro quickly moved stealthily so that he could take a peek at what was going on below there. Kurapika looked at him with confusion.

"What's wrong?" She asked in a whisper.

"Watch." He motioned at her to come closer and take a look. "And use your Gyo."

Down there, near the waterfall, just as the men were looking around for them, fine threads could be seen attached to those men; either to their legs, or arms, or neck, or heads. Kurapika frowned at the scene. Suddenly, she got a very bad feeling.

True enough, as if they were irons attracted by strong magnet, those men were dragged into the clear water of the stream just below the waterfall. They could only manage to scream in surprise, and once they were underwater, the water and the roaring sound of the waterfall muffled all screams and shouting. Soon, bodies floated on the surface of the water and were carried down the stream.

With their keen eyes, they both could see that the corpses were no ordinary corpses. They looked as if their life essences had been sucked dry, leaving them withered like dry leaves. Kurapika cringed as she felt butterflies in her stomach. She had to grab the branch to steady her footing.

"What…" She started with weak voice. "…was that?"

"Jorou-gumo." Kuroro flatly said, although there were unhappy glints in those dark orbs of his. "She drained their life essences, and intended to drain ours as well."

"But...Where is she?" Kurapika looked around the waterfall from the branch, but the demonic spider woman was nowhere to be spotted.

"Let's go. We have no more business here." Kuroro said.

Thinking that there was a sense in his words, Kurapika only nodded silently and followed along as the older man jumped down from the branch. As soon as her legs touched the ground, however, a horrid realization dawned at her.

"The castle." She muttered softly as her eyes widened in terror.

"Kurapika." Kuroro turned to give her a stern look, like a parent warning his child. "We absolutely have nothing to do with this."

"The city!"

As if she had not heard him, Kurapika dashed towards the direction of the city. Kuroro shook his head in distress and followed after her. He would not shield her from any gruesome facts that she would encounter very soon enough.

When they reached the border of the city, the people were already running away for their lives. The castle, which had stood mighty and grand before, was now encased in thick layers of silvery spider webs. Kurapika swallowed hard at the scene and without saying anything to Kuroro, made her way towards the castle as fast as her legs could carry her. She was, however, stopped by an unseen force and could not move further. When she turned around, she saw Kuroro rooting his legs firmly to the ground, not letting her to take further step.

_I never thought the bind can come handy in such situations, _he thought wryly.

"It will be imprudent to go there, Kurapika." He warned her.

"I can't stand still and do nothing! It's not only the castle; it's the whole city that is in danger!" She retorted, her face was already flushing in anger.

Kuroro regarded her coldly; it was something that he very rarely did to her.

"Whatever you find out in there, you cannot blame anyone else." He said with icy voice. "Only yourself."

Kurapika at that time did not know of what he meant by it but she gave no second thought of it. For her, there were multitude of lives in danger and she felt compelled to rescue them. She shrugged aside Kuroro's nonsensical statements; but it was something that she would later regret. She should have listened to him.

"Whatever." She snapped at him with impatience.

"It's your choice." He said again, before he finally moved and followed her towards the castle.

* * *

"Oh. My. God." She had to cover her mouth with her hands to reduce the nauseous sensation that ragged her whole body. Kuroro, meanwhile, stood next to her straight and composed with his hands shoved into his pockets. He looked around with slight disgust in his dark eyes.

There were bodies everywhere, and they did not look pretty at all. Some of them were wrapped in tight, fat bundle of spider webs that they looked more like silk worm cocoon than anything. The most hideous part of the scene was the corpses which had been reduced into either unrecognisable lumps of meat or those dead bodies with their stomach ripped open and their innards scattered everywhere in a gruesome manner.

"Oh God…" Kurapika whispered as she looked at one of the corpses. "How can she…"

"She is a bakemono; a demonic spirit. What do you expect?" Kuroro said with flat voice, and his tone was almost mocking.

Kurapika had already opened her mouth to revile him, but she stopped when she heard the sickening lips-smacking sounds and the chewing sound from the upper floor. Ignoring Kuroro and bracing herself to behold yet another monstrous scene, Kurapika dashed to the upper floor.

There, before her, was Jorou-gumo hunching over something. Her silken black kimono was drenched in gore and innards, and her jet-black hair was almost dyed entirely crimson. She did not seem to pay any heeds on the filth and instead focused on her task on hand. Kurapika's face turned ashen white when she took a better look on what the spider incarnation was doing.

She was sucking the intestine of the lord of the castle; who was lying supine with his ribcages forcefully ripped open and his entrails exposed for the world to see. His eyes were bulging out in pure terror and his mouth was agape but no sound came from it. When Jorou-gumo finally noticed Kurapika's presence, she dropped the intestine and turned her head slowly to face her. She grinned from ear to ear sinisterly at her with her mouth smeared in a messy dark crimson. Kurapika held her breath as Jorou-gumo stared at her with the hungry glints dominating her faceted eyes.

_Little giiiiiirlll…_She hissed and giggled eerily.

Apparently, she was more interested in Kurapika's horror-stricken face than Kuroro's composed one. Kurapika opened her mouth but not a single syllable came out. Her words were chocked in her throat as she beheld Jorou-gumo macabre appearance.

"That is very unsightly of you, Jorou-gumo." Kuroro said calmly.

_Anansi booooy…_She giggled even louder. _Look at the poor little giiirl…She looks so upseeeet…Why are you upset, little giiirll? _

Kurapika could only muster enough strength to open and close her mouth like a goldfish.

_Why are you so upseeet? I thought you know that this is my goal since the beginiiiingg?_ Her grins spread broader in every word she hissed.

"Si—since the beginning?" Kurapika finally managed to choke out a sentence with effort.

_Aaah…You don't knooow…_ She turned to Kuroro. _She doesn't knoooow…Why, Anansi booooy?_

Kurapika turned to stare at the man with equal terror, as if Kuroro had morphed into a monstrous form like Jorou-gumo did.

"Since the beginning, she wanted to use us as a bait to lure those Nen-users out the safety of the castle," He turned to look at her with those cold obsidian eyes, "to feast on them."

Kurapika gave a sharp gasp.

"You knew." She whispered fiercely. "You knew since the beginning."

"I did." He nodded in perfect composure.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She was close to yelling at him, her eyes turning into raging scarlet.

"If I had, you wouldn't have cooperated, and the whole country would be after you."

"So you are trying to wipe away any witnesses." It was more of a question than a statement.

"Simply put, yes."

"YOU—!"

_So pretty…_Jorou-gumo's hair-raising voice dissolved Kurapika's wrathful anger in almost an instant. She turned to look at the spider woman, who was staring at her with twisted jealousy.

_You have such pretty eyeeeess…_She hissed as she started to crawl on the floor towards her. Another pair of arms protruded from her flanks. _I wonder if I eat you alive…_Another pair of arms appeared. _Will I have your pretty eyeeess?_ Another pair of arms appeared yet again.

Her evil aura was so intense that it seemed to crush Kurapika's fighting spirit into nothingness. She could feel her knees shaking in terror.

_Little giiiirlll…_ She hissed again, and her face started to contort into a very ugly deformity.

"Kurapika, get a grip." Kuroro said to her while taking her arm.

"I—I…"

_LITTLE GIIIIRRLLL!_ With a blood-curdling screech, the Spider Lady's body seemed to have burst and ballooned at the same time. The spirit that once had been a gorgeous, alluring lady had morphed into a gruesome slick-black arachnid of monstrous size.

The humongous spider monster lunged at Kurapika, but her fangs only found empty air. Kuroro had once again teleported them out of danger.

_Anansi booooy…_ The spider demon clicked her massive fangs hungrily and impatiently. _I will get you…_ She shoved her massive body and crawled her way out of the barren castle. _And that pretty little giiirl…_

_

* * *

_

Kuroro teleported to the forest. He knew that they were safe from the crazed spider demon for the short time being only. He had to do something about Kurapika. She seemed defeated and lifeless; she could barely stand on her own feet. He nudged her in the arm, but he was rewarded with a very hard slap on his cheek.

"How could you?" She hissed venomously, her eyes still bright scarlet.

Kuroro said nothing.

"So many people…So, so many innocent people…" Kurapika closed her eyes and slumped to the ground helplessly. "Because of me…"

Kuroro frowned at her, yet still he said nothing.

"That's why you don't want me to go to the castle…Because you don't want me to find out…" She muttered weakly.

"Like I said; you can only blame yourself. If you have thought further, you might have discovered her goal earlier." He said coldly.

Kuroro had never treated her so coldly and indifferently before. It felt almost like she deserved it; because she was too weak, because she was too soft-hearted, because she was too short-thinking. He allowed everything to happen, for the odds to be against her, so that she would learn.

"All these can wait. We must move on first." He said calmly.

"Where to?" She mumbled.

_Where indeed? _He thought bitterly. The Jorou-gumo had her power increased manifold after she devoured all those Nen-users. That was why she managed to penetrate the defence of the o-fuda-invested castle. Right now, they had no chance of outrunning her. She would be able to track them down eventually, except if they received some divine aids. _Those celestial creatures, they are absent when they are most needed._ Kuroro tsk-ed.

_Go North, _a deep, smooth voice suddenly spoke in Kuroro's mind. It was a man's voice, one that he did not know of. Alerted, Kuroro whipped his heads sideways to search for the owner of the voice, but it was to no avail.

Just suddenly, something landed on the ground with a loud shake and the trees around it were blown away as if they had been dry leaves.

_LITTLE GIIIRLL…ANANSI BOOOY…_ Jorou-gumo screeched hungrily as she clicked her fangs repeatedly. _FOUND YOOOU…_

Kuroro tsk-ed again and grabbed Kurapika roughly by arm. He then started running blindly, dragging Kurapika along.

"Where are we going?" Kurapika asked in their frenzied escape. Adrenaline rush seemed to have cured her of her despair.

"North." He simply answered.

* * *

"Oh dear…Look at what they did." Seiryuu sighed forlornly as he looked at the wretched city and castle. It was fortunate that the city did not suffer much damage from the Jorou-gumo.

_Seiryuu-sama, you should be in the East; your territory. But more importantly, you could have helped them. It would be a child's play for you to finish off Jorou-gumo._ A small girl dressed in white Shikigami garment spoke softly.

"Well…" Seiryuu folded his arms across his chest. "It's too interesting to watch. I want to see how they can handle that scary woman."

_How cruel of you. _The Shikigami shook her head as she sighed.

"Oh come on. I already hinted to him to go to your place. It's not like I didn't help them at all, okay?" He retorted with a childish pout.

_All you did was to tell that child to go North, _she replied sceptically.

"I believe that is sufficient enough. Besides, I'm sure you'll know what to do, right," he turned to grin at the Shikigami child, "Kuzunoha-chan?"

The Shikigami sighed once again. _You are impossible, Seiryuu-sama._

_

* * *

_

"That Suzaku is impossible!"

"Why?" Kuroro asked as he dodged another round of spider webs that were shot his way.

"The charm he gave me works for naught!" She screamed as she jumped from a tree that was soon encased in Jorou-gumo's spider webs and consequently withered. "It's completely useless!"

Kurapika summoned her Counterattack Chain and attempted to give the spider monster a payback. The blade struck her giant faceted eyes, and she screamed in agony. Accumulating her raw strength in her fist as she enhanced her Reinforcement type Nen with her Emperor Time Nen ability, Kurapika blew a hard blow to the spider's massive abdomen. With a shriek, the spider was thrown off and hit the trees, flattening a section of the forest in no time.

"Lively, aren't you?" Kuroro commented amusedly.

"Shut up." She snapped curtly at him.

After gathering her monstrous body from the dirt, Jorou-gumo bellowed in rage and showered them with spider web again. Both dodged well, and this time Kurapika used her Counterattack Chain to dismember one of her eight legs. The monster screamed in agony.

_LITTLE GIIIRRLLLL! _She screamed in vengeance. With rage, she seized her dismembered leg and started devouring it.

Kurapika cringed at the grotesque scene. When Jorou-gumo had finished eating her own flesh, she inhaled deeply and started to choke. She seemed to be struggling to get something out of her mouth, and when she finally did, oh how gross it was. Billions of minute spiders swarmed the ground and the trees. The spidery incident in the inn last night was nothing compared to this.

"Move away." Kuroro commanded.

He stepped in front of Kurapika, took out his Skill Hunter book and flipped open a new page; a page that Kurapika had never seen before. Kuroro inhaled deeply and when he breathed out, fire escaped his mouth like a flamethrower and he burned those creepy spiders into crisp. When he was finished, half of the forest before him was like victim of forest fire. The trees had all but turned into charcoal.

He coughed smokes when he was finished.

"This is why I prefer not to use this Flamethrower skill." He complained as he coughed yet another round of smoke as if he was a fire dragon that had just emptied his ammunition.

"You could have used this skill last night." Kurapika remarked.

"And risked burning down the entire inn?" He replied deadpan in between his coughs.

_HOW DARE YOOOU!_ Jorou-gumo wailed in both despair and rage as she saw her children being toasted.

She vomited yet another battalion of tiny spiders, and Kuroro again used his Flamethrower skill. This time, however, they fell into her trap. As the fire and the smoke obscured their visions, Jorou-gumo threw her special poisonous webs towards them. Kurapika was the first to spot the webs, and she dragged Kuroro away by his collar. The escaped the first round of the lethal webs; which melted even the ground with its corrosive acid, but at the price of Kurapika's ankle. She sprained one of her ankles badly.

They stumbled to the ground in a heap with a thud, and before they could pick themselves up from the ground, the second round of the venomous webs were already on above them. Seeing that there was no way to avoid it this time, Kurapika braced herself for the impending doom.

What she did not expect was that Kuroro would tuck her beneath his body, so that he received the full blow with his back.

It was the first time that a cry of agony ever escaped his mouth since the day that he 'graduated' from Ishtar's hellish trainings. The pain was driving his mind over the edge of his sanity, and it was nothing he had experienced before. Even as he blanketed his whole back with Kou, it was of only little help. His legs, which were not shielded with Kou at all, suffered the most. He could feel his flesh burning and corroding, almost reaching his bone. The pain seared throughout his entire being, racking his body.

Kurapika, who was stunned beneath him, had a full view of his torn expression. It was a face she had never imagined to see, although she often dreamed that she would be able to inflict enough damage on him to such extent.

Without her being aware of it, a drop of warm precipitate escaped from the corner of her eye and trickled down her pale face.

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: Gah, so many things to research for this Arc. Anyway, the rating of this fic will have to change due to the graphic violence. I apologise for those who are offended, but please do not stop reading. There won't be so much of gory violence in the future. All these are happening in the Kyoto prefecture, and the castle is inspired by the Fushimi Momoyama Castle in Kyoto. I know Kuroro crying out in pain is so OOC, but well…Imagine the pain as when you are sprayed with hard water, or concentrated sulphuric acid perhaps. _

_**Next**__: Kuroro was dying, and for the first time Kurapika shed a tear for that man. What would become of them? Was this really the end?_


	20. Chapter 20: A Short Respite

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own HunterxHunter_

_**Story so far**__: They were in a very difficult position, with their lives both at stakes. Not to mention that Kuroro was dying as well. When things seemed to lead only to doom, unexpected help came to their rescue._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 20**

_**A SHORT RESPITE**_

_**

* * *

**_

Everything was in chaos and cacophony of various noises and sounds filled the air. Jorou-gumo was shrieking in her frenzied anger. Kuroro cried out in pain as his flesh was corroded by Jorou-gumo's acidic web. Kurapika was beneath him, sheltered and safe but was helpless. The acrid smell of burning flesh invaded her senses and it triggered her instincts; desperately Kurapika extended her own Nen and blanketed him with it. It seemed to help a little, as his scream had turned into groans of agony. He opened his eyes a bit, and their eyes interlocked with each other for a fleeting moment. There were thousand of emotions in those usually cold eyes, and there was turbulence in those oceanic blue eyes that had turned glowing scarlet.

Sharp jingles of metals suddenly were heard amidst the whole commotion.

"Rin byo tou sha kai jin retsu zai zen! Evil spirit, be gone!" Two voices chiming in perfect unison could be heard from distance.

Suddenly, the two of them were engulfed in warm, white light and when the blinding light had retreated, the lethal webs had vanished. Kuroro collapsed on top of Kurapika, but he maintained his consciousness albeit barely. Blood ran freely from the raw flesh of his back; his skin had all but corroded by the acid. What remained of his shirt was thoroughly soaked crimson in his fresh blood.

Kurapika turned to take a short glimpse at their saviour, and it turned out to be two teenage girls. They were standing on the roadway with their jingling Shakujyo; a six-ringed golden-coated staff made of wood and brass, in their hands. They were dressed in all white Shinto priestess garments. One had shoulder-length dark hair while the other had long jet-black hair.

_YOU LITTLE PIECE OF—_ Jorou-gumo bellowed in indignation as she charged at them with full force but the girl with shoulder-length bob hair grabbed her Juzu beads and started chanting.

"Rin byo tou sha kai jin retsu zai zen noumaku senmanda masara dan sen da makaraosha da sowata ya un tarata kan man—!" Her mouth moved rapidly according to the incantations that she muttered with such expertise. A wave of power washed over the area and a character appeared on the forehead of the spider monster.

"—on kiri kiri on kiri kiri!" She continued chanting, while Jorou-gumo was rendered paralysed by the mantra. She fought the charm and consequently gashes of wounds appeared all over her slick body.

_CU—CURSE YOUUUU!_ She screeched in rage, and again she spewed out her army of tiny spiders. They charged at the chanting girl blindly.

"So persistent!" The brazen girl yelled and changed the formation of her fingers. "On kiri kiri bazara bajiri hora manda manda un hatta, on kiri kiri bazara bajiri hora manda manda un hatta—"

The billions of spiders were paralysed and merged into one disgusting ball of spiders. Four pillars of light appeared and locked their movements.

"On sara sara basara hara kyara un hatta on agyana wei senji kya sowaka!" Her hands and fingers moved rapidly, forming many symbols that were meaningless for common people. With one final movement of her hands, the spiders then combusted into fire and burned into nothingness.

"Come on, let us be going." The other girl picked Kuroro and Kurapika from the ground and lent her shoulder to help carry Kuroro.

"But how about her?"

"Tara will be alright. Our top priority is the two of you."

Just as she said that, a shriek could be heard and a body landed on the ground. Tara had a horrible wound on her arm, and but still she clung to her Shakujyo and bravely stood up to face the monstrous spider again. With a roar, Jorou-gumo approached Tara furiously despite her limp.

The long-haired girl seemed to be torn between helping her friend and fulfilling her duty of taking the two of them to a safe place.

"Help her." Kurapika said firmly as she took the liberty of taking Kuroro's full weight on her shoulders.

"But—"

_Miho._ A very smooth female voice reverberated in their heads. Kurapika stiffened as she heard that voice, but the girl before her seemed relieved to hear it. When she turned her face around, a snow-white kyuubi (nine-tailed fox/vixen) was standing not far away from them. Her beady golden eyes looked at her with a kind expression, and a golden gem was embedded on her forehead; it almost seemed like her third eye.

_Go and help Tara. I will take them myself, _the kyuubi commanded.

"Yes! Thank you very much, daisaiin-sama!"

Miho then bowed to the kyuubi and hurried to assist her friend. Kurapika looked at the kyuubi with dubious eyes, but the otherworldly kyuubi looked at her serenely.

_Come, child. In my current form, I cannot offer you help. But once you are in my shrine, you will have all aid you need._

With that, the vixen turned around and started to walk away. Kurapika swallowed hard and looked over her shoulder at the ongoing battle between the two teenagers with the rampaging spider. Setting her jaw into a determined set, she took Kuroro's full weight with a grunt as she draped his arm across her shoulders and, suppressing the pain in her ankle, started to drag him to follow after the kyuubi.

* * *

They entered the forest slowly. Now and then the white kyuubi would stop and wait for them in silence, her golden eyes shining like a lantern in the dimness of the forest while the gem on her forehead glinted like a lone star in the darkness. Dusk had started to set, and the forest grew quiet in every second that passed. Kurapika's breath became more laborious as they started to climb uphill due to the strenuous task of dragging Kuroro all the way. The man could barely stand on his feet, with his entire back and half of his legs scalded and corroded to a massive extent. She had to repeatedly stop to catch a breath and adjusted Kuroro's position, and also to ease the throbbing sensation on her swelling ankle.

"Why…" Kuroro started suddenly, but his weak voice was merely a harsh croak. "…are you crying?"

Actually, he had been observing those tears for quite some time. He wanted to ask, but he had been in so much pain that he could not muster enough strength to even speak. Kurapika blinked once. She raised a tentative hand and touched her cheek; which was warm and wet with her hot tears. With bemused face, she wiped the remaining tears from her face.

"I don't know?" She said weakly, her voice not betraying her own confusion regarding her involuntary tears.

They continued their journey in silence. After a while more, they finally reached the shrine, and reached the front gate of the shrine. The white kyuubi then trotted through the through the magnificent tunnel created by the thousands of vermillion torii gate lining along the stone path, heading towards the main shrine.

Convincing her self that it was already close-by, Kurapika braced herself for a few more minutes of walk under the serene vermillion shade of the torii gate. When she finally exited the crimson tunnel, she found herself in the front yard of the main shrine. It was a quiet, peaceful place; a perfect resting place.

Before she realised it, the place was bustling with activities. Youthful shrine maidens approached her and helped her with Kuroro, carrying the limp body to the 'hospital wing' of the shrine. They gently guided the confused Kurapika along, telling her that she would be safe in the compound of the Inari shrine. When they reached the ward and started taking off Kuroro's torn clothes, one of the young miko touched Kuroro's ruined back and she immediately screamed in pain. Her hand was instantaneously scalded; the poison still remained on Kuroro's flesh.

"I'll heal him." Kurapika insisted, since she knew that those miko could not touch Kuroro's wound carelessly, lest they got burned by the vicious poison.

Kuroro could only raise an eyebrow but gave no objections. Reluctantly, the girls moved aside to give her space. Kurapika shifted to face his ruined back as he sat in front of her, cringing when she laid her eyes on the hideous wound. In a flash, she turned her eyes scarlet and her Holy Chain danced around her thumb. With a flick of her wrist, the Holy Chain wrapped itself loosely around Kuroro's body and a flow of Nen embraced Kuroro.

What Kurapika had not expected was that it would require tremendous amount of energy to heal Kuroro's burns. They were no ordinary burns. They were so persistent, and Kurapika had to reach deeper into her Nen reserves. She started to lose her breath as her body wore out, but she persevered. Once she was done with the back, she moved on to the legs. By this time, Kuroro had already noticed her abnormal breathing and the sickly paleness on her face.

"Kurapika, you are overexerting yourself." He warned, but she paid no heeds.

"A bit…more…" She said with strained voice.

No sooner than when she saw the last wound on his leg closing, she had given all she had and everything turned abysmal black. She collapsed forward, but Kuroro quickly caught her from falling face first to the tatami floor. He immediately checked her pulse and breathing, and soon realised that she had just passed out due to exhaustion. He sighed in relief.

"Daisaiin-sama! (Grand High Priestess)" All the shrine maidens suddenly sat in a very polite manner and bowed towards the person standing on the entrance of the room.

There, on the doorway, was a majestic woman with pure snow-white hair that touched the tatami floor. Unlike the other miko, she wore the very elaborate High Priestess attire; she wore a white haori decorated with silver and golden embroidery of Japanse chrysanthemum with a transparent veil draped over her hair and shoulders, and a deep purple hakama which symbolised her office as the High Priestess. On her forehead was the golden orb which Kuroro remembered seeing on the white kyuubi's forehead.

Soundlessly, the woman approached him and the unconscious Kurapika. She sat down gracefully before them, and with a lift of her hand, dismissed the entire army of miko out of the room. Pin-drop silence filled the room.

"Welcome to the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. I am Kuzunoha, the High Priestess in-charge of this shrine." She bowed politely at her guests.

Kuroro said nothing for he was still weary and Kurapika was still out-cold in his arms.

"Please make yourself at home here, dear guests. It is a request from the Shishin; the Four Celestial Guardian Beasts of the Four Compass Directions. As long as you remain within the compound of this sanctuary, no harm shall befall you and your companions." She continued.

"You are that nine-tailed vixen." Kuroro suddenly said.

The snow-haired woman smiled warmly. "Indeed I am." She turned to look at Kurapika's ankle, which by then was already so swollen and purplish blue in colour. "Poor girl, she hurt herself."

Kuzunoha reached at the first-aid kit that the group of young miko had left earlier when she dismissed them from the room. She rubbed a kind of salve on Kurapika's swollen ankle and wrapped it neatly with a bandage. Kuroro only observed the process in silence.

"She could have healed her ankles before she carried me." Kuroro muttered.

"Maybe the thought didn't cross her mind because she was so distracted." A gentle smile appeared on her frail-looking face. "Or maybe she thought that wouldn't be wise with Jorou-gumo around."

The fox-woman packed everything into the kit once she was done and straightened up to give Kuroro a brief scrutiny.

"Normally," she said quietly, "ordinary humans would have died when they touched Jorou-gumo's lethal webs, let alone the enhanced one. But you were able to withstand the shock and torture, and even the poison."

Kuroro listened to her quietly. He knew of what she was going to ask inevitably.

"From the smell of your blood earlier," she continued, "I can tell that you are of no ordinary human breed. What are you?" She asked quizzically. She had never encountered someone so extraordinary before. It scared her; he scared her.

The raven-haired man looked at her with calculating eyes. He could see that she was unnerved by his exceptional endurance. It might go as far as being phenomenal, but there was no helping to it.

"I am born human." Kuroro finally answered. "But my blood has been mixed with the blood of a medusa."

The colour was drained from Kuzunoha's ivory face. Even though she was not very knowledgeable about her fellow creatures outside of her country's boundary, she had heard some tales of medusa; the ferocious medusa.

Kuroro turned to look at the still unconscious Kurapika.

"So does hers."

Kuzunoha held her breath temporarily.

"I see." She finally said with a very quiet voice. "There are so many things that I want to tell the two of you, but I'm afraid that will have to wait until your companion regains consciousness."

With the grace of someone belonging to a royal family, Kuzunoha stood up and made her way to the sliding door. Before she excused herself, she told him that their needs; such as baths and food, would be attended to so they had nothing to worry about. When the sliding door was closed with a very soft thud, Kuroro turned to look at Kurapika again. Her pallid face seemed as cold as a stone. He tenderly brushed her wan cheek with the back of his fingers, as if it could crumble upon touch. A thought reverberated in his mind:

_Why did you cry?_

_

* * *

_

Kuzunoha locked herself in her private chamber. She took out a certain paper screen with a drawing of a white tiger, and placed it in front of her. She looked at it with reverence, and after a few seconds, she put her three fingers; her index, middle, and ring finger, of both hands on the tatami floor right in front of her bent knees and bowed her head low.

As if answering to her silent request, the drawing of tiger on the paper screen came into life and stepped out of the two-dimensional plane into the real world. The tiger paced straight towards the bowing Kuzunoha and sat in front of her.

_You have done your job well,_ the tiger said with a deep, gruff voice.

"It is my pleasure, Byakko-sama." Kuzunoha said softly.

When the white-haired fox-woman looked up, as per Byakko's permission, the white tiger had morphed into its human form. Before Kuzunoha was a massive tiger-headed man wearing golden armour and war helmet adorned with a huge white jade on the forehead. He held a halberd in his hand, ready to strike any enemies at anytime.

"Suzaku should have told me of their arrival earlier. That way, those two youths would not have to encounter Jorou-gumo, and thus they would not have to be in such deep trouble as they are now." Byakko shook his snowy white tiger head with slight exasperation. "Really, that incorrigible man!"

Kuzunoha said nothing and merely sat down sweetly as Byakko rambled on about Suzaku's laid-back manner that had caused too many troubles for him. After a while, only then the frail-looking woman braced herself to bring up a certain topic to her superior.

"Byakko-sama, that man…" She began hesitantly. "He said he shared blood with a medusa. Could it be…?"

"Yes. He is Ishtar's surrogate son. You have heard of her?" He nodded, mildly surprised by the meek woman's question and nervousness. She had always been confident and reserved.

"Yes. Who would have not heard…" she looked up to gaze dreamily at the starry night. "…of the tale of a fallen Goddess?"

* * *

She rarely dreamed. If she ever had dream, they would be nightmares, and her nightmares were more often that not the same one over and over again; the massacre of her tribe and her brother's decapitated body. This time, however, she found herself experiencing a very awkward and peculiar dream.

Kurapika was standing in pitch black darkness. So dark it was that she could not see what was beneath, above, or sideways. Strangely, she was not afraid at all. It was not a cold darkness; it seemed to welcome her warmly, embracing her with their ubiquitous constancy and perpetual ambiance. It was peaceful, soothingly so.

She caught a speck of light from the corner of her eyes. It blinked weakly in the far distance, cajoling her to come closer. Curious, Kurapika walked slowly to approach that beckoning light. The closer she got to that blinking light, the more she felt heavy and troubled in her heart; yet the light urged her still to come closer. Something suddenly stopped her legs. When she looked down, she was confronted by a very odd, seemingly harmless creature.

It looked like a tapir, but not quite so. It had an elephant's head, tusks, and trunks, while its horns and claws belonged to the tiger species. Its body was covered in thin, gray hair. It was a Baku. The petite creature tugged at the hem of her pants, urging her not to go to that source of light. Kurapika looked at the weak light, and then at the Baku. She repeated that gesture for quite some time, before she finally sat down next to the queer creature.

"It's strange, but I feel that I should stay with you." She said with small voice.

With a happy glint in its small eyes, the Baku nuzzled at Kurapika's arm, pleading her to hold it. Amused by its antics, Kurapika complied with its whim. She patted its small head gently, like she would pat a dog. With a content sigh, the Baku rested its head on Kurapika's lap.

Peace overcame her again, and before she knew it, she was already swallowed by boundless oblivion.

* * *

"Finally awake?" was Kuroro's first words to her when she blinked open her eyes.

She turned her head to look at Kuroro, who seemed all fresh and alive as if he had not been grievously injured before. He was sitting on his futon still in his sleeping yukata. She looked at the low ceiling on top of her. She barely recognised the place, but she knew for sure that she felt so strangely brimming with energy; as if it was the first time she ever had a very peaceful and content sleep.

"Where?"

"Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine." He answered. "You've been sleeping for two full days."

"WHAT?" Kurapika shrieked in horror as she jolted up from her futon.

"Relax, kid." Kuroro carelessly stifled a yawn. "I just woke up myself a few minutes ago."

"Huh?" Kurapika blinked as she saw him doing such common gesture; him stifling a yawn openly? "Then how do you know that it's been two days?"

"This little fellow told me." Kuroro lifted his arm that was obscured by his body, and clinging to it was another curious creature.

Kurapika frowned and leaned closer towards him to take a better look at the creature. It looked like a miniature fox the size of a rat or weasel. It looked at Kurapka with its narrow eyes, staring at her with equal curiosity as she offered it. After a while, she recognised what kind of creature it was.

"A kuda-kitsune!" She exclaimed with joy.

"Why are you so happy to see one?" Kuroro asked with one raised eyebrow.

"I have always wanted to have one." She said, too happy to act indifferent towards him as she usually did. "Come here, little one." She said while reaching out with one hand to the small fox, while the other supported her body.

The kuda-kitsune sniffed her hands gingerly first, before it leapt from Kuroro's arm to her hand. It then climbed up her arm towards her shoulder energetically, nuzzling her cheek with its tiny nose.

"Like a little kid." He teased her.

"Excuse me?" She glared at him.

"I'm a good nine years older than you are, so it's quite right for me to call you so."

"I am seventeen! I'm not a little kid anymore!"

"Isn't it about time that you heal your sprained ankle?"

Kurapika blinked. Why did the man suddenly change the subject?

"No, I'm out of Nen." She curtly answered.

"You've been sleeping like a log for two whole days."

"Do you have any idea how much Nen I used to heal your back and legs?" She retorted, turning to glare at him but when their eyes met, she could not so much as muster a hostile glare. She only stared at him. After a while, she turned away from him.

"Anyway, I don't want to waste my Nen for such trivial things. By the time we are out of this place, by right it'll be back to normal already."

"How much Nen do you have left?"

"Barely." She shrugged. "It will accumulate back over time."

"We can't afford it." He said with even voice, yet there was a stress in it, like an emphasis.

"What do you suggest we do then?" She asked in annoyance. She knew what he was hinting on; the moment they stepped out of the shrine, Jorou-gumo would be after them and they had to be in prime condition to face her.

Kuroro was silent for a while, covering his mouth with his hand in his characteristic thinking gesture. After a moment, he looked at Kurapika with intense stare that the girl shifted uncomfortably.

"I have a theory, but we may as well give it a shot."

"What theory?"

"Nen are classified into different categories, which means each group should have a generally similar property. If that is the case, then it should be possible for Nen to be transferred from one person to another to fuel one's Nen. After all, there are treatments where they use Nen as means of healing, especially for the Reinforcement group. Your Holy Chain is one good example."

Kurapika frowned. "Makes sense, but even if the property is similar, it still may not be compatible for everyone, correct?"

"True. However, in our case, I wager that our Nen should be compatible."

"What makes you think so?" Kurapika asked incredulously. The man was full of surprises, really.

"We both belong to Specialisation group, and our blood type is the same; AB. They say that people's personality can be grouped based on their blood type, which means we are more or less of the same personality."

"I don't see the similarity between us." She remarked deadpan and flatly.

"Moreover, you share my blood from the transfusion. All these should increase the probability of the compatibility of our Nen." He ignored her sharp remark.

Kurapika frowned even deeper. "So what are you getting at?"

"Connect our Nen and see if you can access my Nen and use it like your own or not." He said with even voice.

Kurapika disliked the idea; very much so. Nen was something personal and private for her; it was like the symbol of identity for each person in her perspective. To think that her Nen could be compatible with this man of a criminal and she would try to access his Nen to be used as her own made her shiver in fear, and slight revulsion. She did not want to admit it, but she was afraid that if this little experiment was a success, it was like sealing the fact that they had shared their inner selves with each other.

"Come on." He gestured at her to come closer and hold his hands.

He did not seem bothered about that; no, he seemed oblivious of it. He did not care. Kurapika swallowed hard. Despite her fear, she was curious. She was dead curious; she wanted to know more about Nen, to know how far she could use her power. Without bothering to battle her own conscience, she took his hands in hers.

Kuroro's Nen increased subtly and smoothly, flowing flawlessly as it reached Kurapika. When his Nen enveloped Kurapika wholly, she was overwhelmed by a very strange sensation. It felt like she was drowning in a kind of liquid, and it gave an electrifying tickles all over her body. She could feel his Nen entering her through the pores of her skin, prodding deeper into her inner self, trying to connect with her Nen. As their Nen collided, she gasped as her chest felt tight and constricted.

He held her hands steadily, observing her subtle expressions silently. He could feel his Nen meeting hers; at first it was like a hailstorm, her Nen refusing his, but overtime the chaos gradually subsided and they fused into one. Kurapika closed her eyes, focusing her attention on the new Nen in her body. It felt like a newborn baby, raw and pristine yet strong. She detached one hand from Kuroro's grip; her hand that bore the Nen Chain, and attempted to summon her chains. It worked.

The familiar rattles of the Nen chain filled the room, and Kuroro looked on in wonder. The Holy Chain appeared, hovering like a confused bee. The cross then flew towards Kurapika's swollen ankle and floated above it, giving out a warm light as it healed the injury. In no time, Kurapika's ankle was back to normal.

Kuroro Lucifer was excited. He had never thought that his theory would ever be proven true.

Kurapika withdrew her chain and settled back her Nen. As her Nen reverted into its sanctuary within her inner self, Kuroro detached his Nen from hers. He withdrew his Nen slowly, so as not to shock her to her death. However, he deliberately left behind small residues of his Nen. When the whole process was done, both of them collapsed to the tatami floor.

"It worked." Kurapika said disbelievingly amidst her huffs.

"So I was right." Kuroro muttered, his eyes glinting excitedly.

Suddenly, he laughed. He did it the way a child would laugh when he had just gotten the toy that he had been longing for, as he laid supine on his back. Kurapika stared at him with wonder in her eyes; what had gotten into the man?

"I was right." He said again as he turned to look at Kurapika with his soulful eyes.

Kurapika held her breath. His sudden raw happiness was contagious. Kuroro was showing her his childish persona; something he very rarely did so openly, and it might as well be one of his true inner selves. Catching a glimpse of it, and intoxicated by his childish delight, Kurapika could not help but to get carried along. She smiled at him.

It took him by surprise, but he did not let it show. Instead, he dwelled in that fleeting moment. He rolled so that he lay on his stomach and he reached out to tease golden strands of her hair with his slender fingers. Kurapika watched as he twirled her hair absentmindedly, not minding the gesture.

"How are you feeling?" He asked with a faraway look on his face.

Kurapika rolled over so that she lay supine on the tatami floor. She breathed in and out steadily, trying to discern the feelings of her own body condition.

"I feel like I have more Nen." She finally said as she slowly turned her head to face him. "Did you…?"

He nodded, a glint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes. His theory was all correct; he really could fuel other's Nen so long as the Nen was compatible and the conditions were met.

Instead of being elated as he was, or happy for having more Nen, Kurapika felt her blood freezing in her veins. First it was her blood that was mixed with his, and now her Nen. It felt like he was invading her through very delicate and unthinkable means. He left traces of his self inside her; giving her a piece of himself in different ways.

Slowly but surely, he was entering her very being.

* * *

"Yo, Ishtar. Looks like things are going smoothly for them."

"Is that so?" The lady smiled at the reflection of the Phoenix on the surface of her magical water. It served as a long-distance communication means between her and a few others who owned similar devices.

"Definitely. Heard from my cousin that they are in deep shit right now, but that's exactly the good thing."

"Phoenix, your language, please." Ishtar massaged the bridge of her nose delicately.

"Bother." The Lady in Red rolled her eyes. "Anyway, they did a little funny experiment, and turned out that they can access each other's Nen and even transfer their Nen to each other. Very weird, huh? I've never heard of this before."

Ishtar giggled. "I didn't expect them to be that compatible."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Nen is a very delicate and serious business." She said while twirling her hair with her thin fingers. "It is no child's play, especially when it involves the interconnection between Nen. It represents one's inner self and soul. What do you think is the implication when they are giving their Nen to each other? Even assessing each other's Nen like their own?"

"Giving their souls to each other? Goodness, that's like they've become one."

"Precisely."

"Geez. Just tell them to get married already." She said while crossing her arms like a parent exasperated by her child.

Ishtar smiled tenderly at the hot-headed legendary bird. "I wish it was that easy, my friend."

* * *

Kurapika sat on the balcony of their room, which overlooked the lake behind the shrine. She still felt uneasy after their small experiment with their Nen. Sometimes she felt her stomach churning whenever she remembered the fact that Kuroro had given her a piece of his Nen in her. She felt giddy. She felt violated. Swallowing the bile, Kurapika looked up and began reciting her favourite lines:

"Sun in the sky,

Trees upon the ground…

Our bodies are from the earth,

Our souls come from the Heavens above.

The Sun and the Moon rejuvenates our bodies,

Sends our bodies to the wind that blows across the plains.

Give thanks to the Gods who abode in the Heavens for the land of the Kuruta.

Let our spirits live in everlasting vigour and protection.

I seek to be capable of sharing the mirth with my people.

Offer homage to the people of the Kuruta Tribe,

Let our blazing Scarlet Eyes bear witness…"

"A Kuruta Prayer?" Kuroro absentmindedly inquired.

He had heard it before; back then in Fino's inn, when Kurapika was still extremely hostile to him. Come to think of it, Kuroro realised how comfortable things had been between the two of them. Previously, the Kuruta would especially take every chance she had to spite him, to deride him, to revile him. Now they were so at ease with each other it made Kuroro ponder; what was in the girl's mind right then?

Kurapika had not responded to his whimsical question, as if she had not heard him. Kuroro then deliberately approached her and sat next to her. The moon was high above, hanging like a lone lantern with its forlorn glow. Kurapika sat stiff and tense despite the harmless environment. It bewildered him, and so he reached to touch her.

The moment she saw his hand approaching her from the corner of her eyes, she briskly swatted away his hand. Kuroro seemed mildly surprised at this resurfacing hostility; it had been a very long while since she the last time she avoided his touch. He looked closely at her face. It intrigued him. The girl was easy to read, at least for him. This time, however, Kuroro could not discern what lay behind that expression of hers. Contempt? Hatred? Despise? Sorrow? Regret? Disgust?

"What are in your minds?" He asked curiously.

His face might have openly shown his curiosity that it made Kurapika feel like she was some experimental subject being questioned. She looked away, not answering his question. Without thinking twice, Kuroro reached out fast at her and grabbed her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him.

"What's your problem?" He asked straight-forwardly.

Kurapika cringed when she was confronted by him, as if she was hurt and wronged when he talked to her. She wrenched her chin free from his grip and looked away again. Kuroro frowned at her.

"If you despise me so much, then why did you heal me?"

"Why did you save me?"

Kuroro sighed.

"For one, I have told you so many times before that I have not the slightest intention of letting you die for a reason that I cannot tell you yet. Second, one person injured is better than both of us injured. Correct?"

Kurapika searched for a retaliation speech, but found none.

"My answer?" He demanded.

"I don't want to be indebted to you. So consider ourselves even." She said deadpan, her voice devoid of any emotions. She paused for a while, her eyes radiating a sense of hesitance. When she finally asked away a question that had been bugging her for God-knows-how-long, her voice was rather weak. "Why are doing all these for me? You don't gain any personal benefits."

"It's not about personal benefits." He answered quietly, almost with reverence.

"Then?"

"I'm not telling you." He smirked at her.

"Stingy." She pouted.

"Say what you want, it won't change a thing." He chuckled.

The reason why Kuroro was willing to venture to great lengths to help her would be a mystery to her for a very long time. It would only then, years later, that someone else had to relay the answer to her.

* * *

In agreeable silence, they walked along the vermillion Torii tunnel towards the great stone staircase that led towards the entrance of the Fushimi Inari Shrine. They did not even spare a final glance at the shrine that had housed them for the past few short days.

"Kuroro, Kurapika."

A soft voice called out to them before they stepped out of the safety of the shrine. When they turned to look back, they saw the frail-looking Grand High Priestess Kuzunoha approaching them. She hurried after them and gave each of them a protective charm; an o-mamori. It was a small, flat rectangular bag with a knot at the top which functioned as the seal. The knot itself was connected to a loop of string that was long enough to serve as a necklace.

"This is my parting gift for you. I can hardly leave this shrine, only at rare occasions, so the chance of me meeting you outside of this shrine is terribly slim." She told them softly. "But nevertheless, allow me to give you one last advice. Beware of Tamamo-no-Mae."

Kurapika twitched upon hearing that dreadful name. Oh, she knew that name, and Kuzunoha seemed to have seen it in her eyes.

"I can assure you that she is more malevolent than Jorou-gumo is. If you do run into her, try to take her Hoshi no Tama; it's a jewel that every one of us, kitsune, has with us." She said while pointing at her golden orb perching on her forehead. "It contains the very essence of our being; our soul. Once you have it in your hands, you can make her do all your biddings."

"Assuming we can take it from her at all." Kurapika said dryly. It was almost impossible a task.

Kuzunoha only smiled weakly at her. "May your journey be safe," she said while squeezing Kurapika's hand in reassurance.

"Thank you." Kurapika replied politely. _Although I doubt it'll ever be safe at all_, she told herself.

* * *

"Who's this Tamamo-no-Mae?" Kuroro asked.

She gave him a look. "I'm surprised you don't know."

"What am I, a walking encyclopaedia?" He said deadpan, yet amused.

"But—"

"Hush!"

Before Kurapika could even finish her sentence, Kuroro's face turned alert and he pushed her aside; at least he intended to. As he was not looking her way, his broad hand accidentally landed on Kurapika's chest; or to be exact, her breast. Kurapika froze, and so did he. After several interminable seconds, a wrathful bellow shook the entire forest that the birds had to fly away from their comfy nests with great haste.

"YOU—!#$%^&*()!"

"It wasn't intentional!" He defended himself.

Much to his dismay, Kurapika's screech invited the trouble that he had tried to avoid just a few seconds ago. The forest shook again and something landed noisily on the ground before them.

_LITTLE GIIIIIRLL! ANANSI BOOOOY! _Jorou-gumo screeched. Her one eye was still missing, and so was her one leg.

Like a demon possessed, she charged at them, her fangs clicking angrily and full of lust to savour their flesh and blood. Again, adrenaline rush erased all traces of embarrassment from Kurapika's head and she switched into her fighting mode. Now that they were prepared to confront her, there was no holding them back. Both jumped in unison, and Kurapika used her Counterattack Chain to restrict her movements by the neck. Kuroro used the opportunity to charge in and gouged out her other eye. Bellowing in rage and agony, Jorou-gumo retaliated with full force until she finally broke free from the chains, consequently shattering the Nen chains into bits.

At that moment, Kurapika felt her heart being squeezed tightly for a fraction of second. She gasped sharply and fell to her knees while clutching her chest. That was the first time someone broke her Nen chains, and she had never anticipated that the pain would be so overwhelming.

Without a word, Kuroro picked her up by her waist and hauled her to his shoulder, carrying her like a grain sack. He jumped towards the nearest tree branch just as Jorou-gumo spewed forth her poisonous webs.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly while still keeping an eye at the rampaging blind monster.

"I'll be alright, but…" She drew a deep breath. "My Nen is fragmented…Never knew it would be this painful…"

_OVER THEEEERREEEEEE… _Jorou-gumo shrieked and lunged at them despite her gigantic size.

Kuroro had just readied himself with his arms around Kurapika to spring out of troubles when the spider's body suddenly, just so suddenly, was split into two. With a final shriek, the two halves of Jorou-gumo's body free-fell towards the ground, obeying the implacable law of gravity. It crashed to the ground, her dark green blood painting the whole terrain around her dirty green. Her spider legs twitched a bit, before it finally fell stiff and the body disintegrated into fine sands and were blown away by the wind.

The two of them looked down from the tree branch, unsure of what had happened. They went down to the ground and inspected the place. There was no single trace of the Jorou-gumo left in the vicinity, only the mess in the forest that she had caused as she went berserk.

"Who are you?" Kurapika suddenly asked with suspicious voice as she spotted an odd-looking man standing not too far away from them.

The man was standing in the dark shade of the trees, his head hidden by the thick shadow. They could see, however, his grand armour that he donned. The man was silent for a while, before he decided to take some measured steps and stepped into the dim light that penetrated through the canopy of the thick forest.

Kurapika could feel her jaws dropping as she beheld a man with a white tiger head. She kept seeing stranger and stranger creatures in every passing day in her journey.

"I am Byakko, the White Tiger of the West. I am pleased to make acquaintance with the adoptive son of Lady Isthar and his consort."

"Co—consort?" Kurapika blushed again. Kuroro narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at the mention of Ishtar; her name and fame seemed to have spread wide across the globe.

"But I must say that you should not have meddled too much with the affair of this land, not to mention getting into troubles with one of the youkai here. That is highly not recommended and unadvisable." He said in a rather scalding tone.

Kurapika was about to protest, when a sing-song voice interrupted on her behalf.

"That's so mean of you, Byakko-saaaan…" said the voice coming from above.

The three of them looked up and spotted a man dressed in blue oriental attire with deep blue hair sitting leisurely on a tree branch, looking at them with amused expression.

"Seiryuu!" the tiger-headed man barked.

"Jorou-gumo is the one who's messing around with them in the first place, and now you are blaming them. How bad of you. Besides, you could have helped them long time ago, you know." Seiryuu said with a playful smirk.

"Who are you to talk? All you have been doing is to observe them fighting that wretched youkai from up there without doing anything." Byakko said fiercely.

Kuroro frowned at his words. Was it true that Seiryuu had been up there, observing them all the while, without him noticing the man's presence? It reminded him of the event in the Ryokan back then, when Suzaku appeared unannounced without him realising it.

"Well…" Seiryuu tapped his chin with his long finger. "Isn't it one of those cobwebby rules that I'm not supposed to meddle with affairs in your territory? Watching is all I can do and it's so freaking booooring…"

"It is an ancient decree as well that we are not supposed to help humans all the time. Our existence is one to be revered, not to mingle around with the humans too much otherwise they will lose their respect towards us."

"Ah." Seiryuu grinned broadly at him. "That might be true, but have you forgotten that aside from being a foreigner in this land…"

He turned to glance at the two with a strange glint in his sapphire blue eyes. Looking at those eyes, Kuroro then knew instantly that the man was not looking at them as he would look at normal humans.

"Those two can hardly be deemed as pure humans?"

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: For one, I can't find any site that give me the list of Shinto incantations, so pardon me… If there are any Shinto practitioners out there who feel offended by my wrong usage of any incantations, forgive me because I don't know… Just another trivia, Kuzunoha is the name of the famous onmyouji Abe-no-Seimei's vixen mother. As for Tamamo-no-Mae, you'll hear more of her in the next chapter. This chapter is intended to be short, but when I realise, it's already so long…_

_**Next**__: Seiryuu said the two of them were hardly any pure humans! What did that mean? Also, just when they thought that the crisis had passed, they had to stumble yet into another troublesome danger._


	21. Chapter 21: Divinity

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own HunterxHunter_

_**Story so far**__: Seiryuu claimed that the two of them were barely pure humans! What did he mean by that? Also, with the simultaneous appearance of two Celestial Beasts, what would be happening next?_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 21**

_**DIVINITY**_

_**

* * *

**_

"Can I ask you something?" She inquired unsurely as she trailed after him.

"Sure. Ask away." Seiryuu said lightly. As he chose to accompany them, he had wisely opted to change his 'very much conspicuous aristocratic clothes' into that of commoner attire. He even changed his appearance a tiny-wee bit more normal because Kurapika had generously pointed out that Seiryuu had a somewhat inhuman trait in his appearance; his skin had a bluish tint.

"Why didn't you all finish Jorou-gumo before she went berserk and started killing people?"

"Well, missy, we are the Shishin; the Celestial Beasts, not some social workers. Although frankly speaking I'll say that we are just some errand boys for the Heavenly Kings and the Gods and Goddesses up there, but our job is really to observe the humans. We are not to help humans every time they ask for helps. Our helps are reserved only for critical moments, as judged by the Heavenly Kings. Otherwise, if those humans become too dependent on us, imagine how idle and feeble they would be. Not to mention the mountains of works we'll be getting, too. I'd want to avoid that." He laughed softly at the end of his brief explanation.

"So why are you helping us?" This time it was Kuroro who asked.

Seiryuu turned to regard him with a raised eyebrow, but he then started to laugh again.

"Like I said before, you two are foreigners in this land. You aren't under our jurisdiction. As a matter of fact, we are given the permission to take care of you as we fit. Anyway, you two are barely humans, so all the more reason for us to personally come down here and do something."

Seiryuu mentioned them being 'barely humans' with such carefree attitude that it made Kurapika rather uneasy. She remembered the short conversation they had right after Jorou-gumo was finally killed, and when Byakko and Seiryuu suddenly made appearance before them.

* * *

"Hardly…pure humans…?" Kurapika could feel her blood freezing in her veins.

For some reasons, she knew that the man in blue was not joking at all. Somehow, she simply knew that he was right. Seiryuu smiled broadly at them with a degree of warmth and amusement in it.

"It's about our blood, isn't it?" Kuroro finally asked for confirmation.

"Hm? How did you know?"

"Kuzunoha told me." He simply said warily.

"Kuzunoha-chan did? Aw, and here I am trying to scare the wits out of you." He said with a slight pout.

Seiryuu jumped from the tree branch and landed on the soft ground with the grace of a dancer. When his foot touched the ground, it did not even stir the dry leaves. He flashed a satisfied grin at Kurapika, who was still in a daze.

"I guess I did shock her, didn't I?"

"How impolite of you." Byakko said critically at the youth. "And you haven't even introduced yourself!"

"Oh, right. An introduction is in order. I'm Seiryuu, the Azure Dragon of the East. Nice to meet you."

Kurapika stared at him. He seemed to be a good-natured and easygoing man. Seiryuu always had a smile on his boyish face, and his mannerism was really casual towards them; unlike the formal Suzaku and the strict Byakko. It was as if he had no care of the worlds and was just having some funs.

"Suzaku told me that you'll be having some business in my territory. You're done here, right? Come along, I'll take you to my place."

And that was how they ended up making a beeline for a certain village in the East. Byakko opted not to leave his territory, while his real reason was just because he did not want to unnecessarily tire himself out by listening to Seiryuu's nonsensical ramblings.

* * *

Her face was getting pale, but she said nothing of the cramps in her stomach that were ruining her moods and stamina. She walked silently, only half-listening to Seiryuu's endless chatters and Kuroro's occasional comments and questions. As the pain was getting worse and worse, she became more agitated and she had to clutch her stomach with her hands although it did little to help ease the pain. When Kuroro finally noticed her lagging behind them, he turned around and raised an eyebrow upon seeing her strange posture.

Kurapika looked up and shot him a steady gaze, as if trying to relay a silent message through her pain-filled eyes. He caught on with the message.

"Already?" He asked with half-exasperated voice.

She only nodded.

"What's wrong?" Seiryuu asked when he noticed that his guests had stopped a few paces behind him. Just as the question escaped his mouth, he smelled something; the unmistakable smell of bad blood.

"Can you take us to the nearest stream?" Kuroro asked, ignoring his question.

"Sure, it's pretty close." Seiryuu answered while pointing to a certain direction. He spared Kuroro the embarrassment of having to explain that Kurapika was having her menstrual periods; Seiryuu noted it once he smelled the bad blood.

And so they took a relatively short break near the stream. While the men stayed behind the bushes, Kurapika took her time to wash her lower torso and to clean anything that needed to be cleaned. That said, in the end Kurapika decided to quickly wash her entire body with the clear water. She put aside all her garments on the dry ground and went on with her task.

Quiet rustles of bushes alerted her. She spun around in half-rage as she suspected that one of the guys had probably peeked; unlikely as it seemed. The only thing she spotted was a white cat loitering around her clothes. The little feline stared at the fabrics with curious eyes, sniffing them innocently. Dismissing her earlier suspicion as false alarm, she continued to briskly rub the dust off her skin.

What Kurapika failed to notice was that when the cat departed as it had sated its curiosity, a magatama necklace was hanging from its small mouth. However, most importantly the Kuruta girl failed to spot that the cat's tail was split into two at the end. When Kurapika was dressing herself up, only then she realised that her charm that was given by Suzaku was missing. She only had time to gasp when suddenly Seiryuu stepped from behind the bush.

"Hey, just now—"

THWACK!

His chin was rudely assaulted by Kurapika's Dowsing Chain. Seiryuu stumbled and fell flat on his back.

"I told you." Kuroro said with a sigh as he beheld Seiryuu falling in his full grace down to the ground.

"What the hell was that for?" Seiryuu exclaimed furiously while rubbing his sore chin.

"Peeping Tom! You lecher!" Kurapika screamed at him. Actually, she was already fully clothed when Seiryuu stumbled into the scene. It just happened that Seiryuu was one unlucky fellow.

"WHAT?" Seiryuu roared in indignation. "I wasn't peeking! I sensed a youkai just now!"

"There was only a cat passing by!"

"A cat you said? It's a nekomata, dammit! Check your belongings! Is anything lost?"

Kurapika froze for a second, before assuming a neutral expression all of the sudden.

"…Nothing."

"You sure?" Seiryuu regarded her with a suspecting look.

"Yeah." She said while looking away. She was reluctant to tell them that her protective charm was missing. Well, it would do no harm since the charm was utterly useless anyway. It was proven during that hazardous fight with Jorou-gumo; and the charm was nothing but decoration only.

* * *

"Did you do exactly as I instructed you?" A woman asked.

She was the perfect illustration of classical oriental beauty. Her skin was as white as snow, her thick silky hair was ebony black; shining with ethereal glow as light fell on top of it, her lips were as red as fresh blood; yet her heart was as black as coal. Her luxurious and elaborated 12-layered kimono was draped over her white, frail-looking shoulders. Her thin fingers moved gracefully as she gestured as a certain white cat to come closer.

_As you asked, Tamamo-no-Mae-sama._ The cat youkai said as it dropped Kurapika's charm on the floor before the woman.

"Very well done." The woman smiled at the cat coldly, but the smile was so sinister that the nekomata could not help but to shiver. Her beauty alone was already deadly enough to behold, not to mention that glacial yet enticing smile.

"Without this disgusting Baku charm, she will be an easy prey." She licked her lips delicately. "I will emerge triumphant in what Jorou-gumo has failed."

The nekomata glanced to certain items that had been attracting its attention. The items stood near the woman, under her watchful eyes. The nekomata knew that those items were valuable items that the woman had just acquired; ones that she had absolutely no intention of letting go. Upon noticing the nekomata's curious stare at her priced trophies, the woman gave an even more sadistically alluring smile.

"I will have her eyes."

Two pairs of Scarlet Eyes stared back blankly at the two youkai.

* * *

"You see the village over there? Your Scarlet Eyes is there. Somehow, it has ended up being revered as a sacred item by the villagers there. The entire village worships it as if it's a Godsend item from the Gods up there."

They were standing on top of a hill that overlooked the village. It was a poor village; a far cry from the last city they visited. Despite the impoverished situation, the villagers seemed to be relatively happy with their lives.

"How did the Eyes end up being a sacred item? It's supposedly something that only some aristocrats would have, not some poverty-stricken villages." Kuroro remarked with mild amusement.

"Well, I understand your confusion, but this land is still pretty much full of strife and civil wars at the outskirts. It's very unlike the situation in the big, modern cities you have just visited. Really, the contrast is just too stark. It's just possible for nobles to lose their treasures to angry mobs of peasants. The power of the mass, you know? Never underestimate them." He shrugged and laughed lightly, betraying his real concern over the welfare of the people.

"What do we do now?" Kurapika asked with slight mumble. She looked at Kuroro with meaningful eyes; one that the man was able to decipher when he caught her staring at him.

"I know. No stealing." He said while raising his both his hands in a surrendering gesture.

"Why not? Aren't you a thief?" Seiryuu asked with amusement very apparent on his youthful face.

"She is in no condition to do any works. I can't get too far from her." Kuroro shrugged offhandedly, showing that it did not bother him at the very least.

"Hmm…" Seiryuu nodded, and then suddenly grinned widely like a Cheshire Cat. "Then this is where I come into the picture."

Ignoring the duo's confused looks, Seiryuu inched closer to them and whispered his plan to them. Upon hearing his plan, Kuroro raised a fine eyebrow while Kurapika gawked. Seiryuu's grin widened even more.

* * *

Everything was very much normal in the village, with everyone doing their works dutifully while enjoying life as any happy person could. The peace only lasted until a sudden unprecedented quake shook the entire village, sending the villagers into panic. However, the quake was not to be the most notable event of that day. It was the appearance of a blue scaled dragon in the humble temple of the village.

Loud gasps escaped from the citizen of the village as the dragon roared. Its massive head bent down and its huge blue topaz eyes scanned the entire village like a surveillance camera. The priest of the temple, a very old man, stumbled out of the temple and prostrated himself respectfully before the dragon.

"Seiryuu-sama!" He said with loud voice; loud enough to be heard by the other folks. "Of what occasion have you graced us with your presence?"

The dragon Seiryuu snorted noisily and a puff of smoke escaped his great nostrils.

_Listen well, my people, and you will be spared from your ill luck. Disasters have befallen Saikyo, the great city, because of her possession of those Eyes brimming with the colour of fire. Return them to where they belong, or you will suffer! _

Seiryuu's booming voice resounded in the entire village, inflicting terror and awe into the hearts of the villagers. All of them had fallen to their knees and began bowing at the blue dragon with profound respect and fear.

"Wha—what should we do then, Seiryuu-sama?" The elderly Chief of the village asked with tremulous voice, his withered hands shaking visibly.

_Two wanderers from foreign land will arrive in this village soon. Give those Eyes to them, and you will be saved from calamity. Heed my warnings, good people. _

With that, the dragon disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. A pregnant and heavy silence filled the entire village before chaos ensued. People rushed to the temple and asked the priest to bring out the Scarlet Eyes and held it as they waited by the entrance of the village in their anticipation for the arrival of the 'two wanderers from foreign land'.

Soon enough, as Seiryuu had so-called predicted, two young people strolled down the path towards their village. They were unmistakably from the foreign land that the highty-mighty Seiryuu-sama had mentioned, judging from their odd attire.

Without even sparing those two of any proper greetings, the Chief of the village and the old priest rushed towards them and insisted that they took the Eyes with them, saying that it was a decree from the sacred dragon, protector of their land.

Kurapika felt like slapping her forehead in exasperation while Kuroro had to stifle a gleeful laugh. The Chief then told them that they had prepared the best room for them to spend the night, and all their needs would be attended to. Kurapika felt bad about it, but the people insisted that they received the village's 'good will'.

Unable to hold back his curiosity, finally the priest asked the two of them of the Scarlet Eyes. Kuroro regarded him evenly with a neutral smile.

"It is good to be curious, but there is certain knowledge wherein ignorance of it will spare you the troubles it brings with it."

For the elderly priest, Kuroro's words sounded sagacious and wise, but it unfortunately only served to make Kurapika snorted in mockery. _Such sugar-coated words, _she thought bitterly. It was wise, however, of him to say it since it would undoubtedly spare them the drudgery of having to explain the history of the Eyes and their situation.

They were ushered with all kind of polite mannerism towards the 'best room in the village', and after innumerable bows and kowtows, they were finally left to their peace. Kurapika sighed while Kuroro only smiled amusedly. Just as they settled down in their assigned room, a figure stole into the room stealthily.

"Been a while since the last time I do this. It feels so good." Seiryuu smiled as childishly as he could.

"You threatened your own people!" Kurapika exclaimed, mortified by Seiryuu's seemingly outrageous method of coercion.

"Aw, Kurapika-chan, those humans are impossibly stubborn and faithful to their own superstitions. They won't let go of their 'sacred items' by any normal means. Besides, occasional appearance of us, the Shishin, is also necessary anyway, so that they'll remember of our presence."

"Let it go, Kurapika. You don't have the right to judge him. This is his land, they are his people. Let him do as he sees fit." Kuroro said with a light shrug, being the practical man he was.

This carefree and somewhat cold attitude of Kuroro reminded Kurapika yet again of the man's ruthless regard of people's lives and their values. Old resentment started to resurface, and Kurapika scowled darkly at him. Sensing that Kurapika's mood was going to sky-dive to the worst, Seiryuu attempted to save the day. Well, at least he did try.

"Kurapika-chan, you are seriously overly sombre here. Smile a bit, will you?" He said cheerfully while pinching both of her cheeks.

SLAP!

"The hell was that for?" Seiryuu rubbed his sore cheek.

Kuroro only chuckled at Seiryuu's mishap.

"Monthly mood swings. Welcome to my world."

* * *

Kurapika thought that she was really running out of luck. Not only that she was having her period, she had to have it during the new moon; the much anticipated moment of the month. It was the only time that she got to stay away from the (sometimes) infuriating man (although so far she never got the chance to stay away for more than six metres away from him), and yet she had to spend her time curling into a ball as she had to endure the pain in her abdomen.

"Is it that painful?" Seiryuu asked quizzically.

"Beats me." Kuroro only shrugged.

Kurapika tried to ignore those two impossible men and concentrated more on getting a sleep. The sooner she could drift into sleep, the sooner she would be rid of the throbbing pain in her stomach, although usually her sleep would soon be disturbed by the overwhelming agony.

It was unbeknownst to her that her sleep would indeed be a disturbing one; a plagued one.

* * *

"Kuroro, wake up."

He quickly flashed open his eyes. He heard the strained tone in Seiryuu's voice; the telltale sign of bad news. He extracted himself from his futon and made his way quietly to the side of Kurapika's occupied futon. Seiryuu was already crouching over her still figure and was observing something intensely.

"What's wrong?" Kuroro asked in a low whisper.

"Try to wake her up." Seiryuu whispered back, although his eyes were still glued on the girl.

Kuroro raised a quizzical eyebrow at his seemingly inane order. It was something that Seiryuu could have done personally yet he asked him to do the job. There had to be a reason for it. Kuroro called out to her, and she did not respond. He tried nudging her lightly on the shoulder. No response whatsoever. She seemed to be in a very deep sleep, and was unable to wake up.

"What's going on?" Kuroro asked again with a deep frown.

"No good. She's under Nue's influence. We can't wake her up." Seiryuu shook his head slowly.

"And what will become of her?"

"If we leave her like this, she can sleep forever until her life expired on its own."

_I can't have it that way,_ Kuroro thought bitterly. The grim prospect of him getting stuck with this Sleeping Beauty (yes, he admitted that she was a beauty to certain extent, although not excessively so) for the rest of his life just did not fit in his agenda.

"She lost her Baku charm. The idiot. That nekomata must've stolen it." Seiryuu cussed softly under his breath.

"Can you make a new one?"

"Making Baku charms is not my thing." Seiryuu paused for a while, and added quickly, "but I can certainly get a new one for her."

"Then get it fast." Kuroro urged impatiently.

Seiryuu pouted; he did not like being ordered around, though that was what he always got from his other confreres.

"I'll be back in no time, but in the mean time your job is to keep that Nue busy. It's on the rooftop, I can sense it like a bonfire in a desert. Don't bother killing it since others will quickly come to replace the dead one." He paused and cast a quick glimpse at the sleeping Kuruta. "For them, she is a very delicious meal."

Kuroro narrowed his eyes ever so slightly but his expression betrayed nothing of his concerns. His face remained stoic as ever. Seiryuu then muttered a few words of incantation and suddenly a blast of wind blew to four directions of the room. Kuroro then noticed the slight change in the air.

"I've woven a net of barrier. The villagers won't notice the commotion you'll make as you take care of that Nue. Make sure she doesn't get out of the barrier, will you?" Seiryuu said as he walked towards the door.

Kuroro did not answer him.

"And don't get yourself killed by that Nue." He added with a smirk.

Kuroro snorted in dry amusement. "That goes without saying." He said flatly.

With a wave of his hand, Seiryuu then flew towards the sky and disappeared into the darkness of the sky, as if he was swallowed whole by it. Kuroro dashed out of the room and jumped towards the roof with ease. A thought had actually been bothering him incessantly: _Why is she the only one being targeted?_ He could not give it any further pondering, though, as what he was seeking was standing right before him.

The Nue was an odd and ugly-looking creature. It had a vile monkey head with the body of a racoon dog, the legs of tigers, and a snake as a tail. It reminded him of the chimera that they had encountered many weeks or perhaps months ago. There were black smokes surrounding him, adding to the ominous atmosphere that the Nue brought about with its mere presence. Despite standing before such malicious entity, Kuroro remained unnervingly calm. If anything, he thrived on such dangers.

"There you are." His voice was silkily menacing and a sinister smile graced his cold face.

* * *

Kurapika felt strange. She knew that she was sleeping, but her sleep was restless. She kept tossing around and she felt all sweaty. Finally, after a while, she gave up and opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a boy standing on the door way of the room. Kurapika blinked a few times to clear her vision, and when it was finally clear, she regretted ever opening her eyes.

It was her brother. Her beloved brother. Yet at the same time, he was not quite her brother. For one, he was missing a head.

In pure horror, Kurapika jolted up into a sitting position, her face as white as a sheet of paper. Her eyes rapidly turned into scarlet hue, burning brightly in the darkness of the room. Tears flooded from her eyes uncontrollably, and she began to sob. Kurapika was close to wailing when she suddenly spotted her headless brother cradling something carefully in his arms.

She felt like fainting when she saw what the body was holding; her brother's head.

"A—aniki—" She chocked on her own words. She felt like vomiting, but she clasped her mouth with her hand while the other one served to steady her body.

Her brother's Scarlet Eyes looked at her with an odd stare; as if it was beckoning at her to follow him. Her brother then took a turn and started to walk away out of the room.

"Aniki, wait—!"

Kurapika tried to move, but she could not even get away from the bed. Something was restricting her. When she looked down to her chest, only then she realised that something was shining beneath her shirt. She knew right away that it was the one that immobilised her. Without a second thought, Kurapika torn the shining item from her neck; it was the o-mamori given by Kuzunoha, and discarded it to the floor thoughtlessly.

As soon as she found her body free to move, she hurriedly dashed out of the room to catch up with her brother. She found him walking slowly away from her. In a panic, Kurapika ran after him but no matter how hard she tried to approach him, she never got closer to him. If anything, he seemed to move even further from her; further from her reach. It was as if he was forever unreachable by her.

Kurapika then started to cry out loud as she ran even more vigorously after her brother. She cried out his name in great sorrow; her wail was heartbreaking and yet there was nobody to heed her cries.

In reality, the Kurapika in real world was actually walking unsteadily out of the room, out of the inn, along the empty street, out of the village, into a malevolent danger.

* * *

The Nue was a few metres away from him, growling fiercely at him yet making no attempt to attack him at all. All it did was to dodge Kuroro's attacks and to prowl around him in a circle. His agility was amazing and Kuroro had to admit this. Although Kuroro was not really giving all he had while facing this youkai, since his job was only to distract the creature and not to destroy it, the Nue was doing a really good job at avoiding his attacks. Kuroro frowned at this.

_Is it just here to torture her with nightmares, or…_ His frown deepened. _Is it just trying to distract me? To buy time, perhaps?_

Just as this realization hit him hard suddenly, his En flared impatiently. His Nen hungrily searched around the vicinity, and true to his horror, Kurapika was gone. Only then Kuroro realised the error in his judgement. He narrowed his eyes into dangerous slits and flexed his arms.

"Well, am I not the foolish one here." He said with a hollow chuckle, his voice flat and cold. "Looks like play time is over."

* * *

Kurapika walked even further away from the safety of the village. A woman was already waiting for her patiently, her own crimson eyes glowing hungrily as her gaze was set upon the Kuruta girl. Her lust was intensified when she beheld Kurapika's blazing Scarlet Eyes.

"Ooh…" She cooed lovingly. "What pretty eyes. I absolutely must have them in my possession."

Tamamo-no-Mae tilted Kurapika's chin upwards with her sinewy fingers and studied her sickly pale face closer.

"I'm sorry, little girl. I have no grudge against you, but blame only yourself for having such outstanding eyes." She said softly, as if she was about to cuddle her and not to gouge out her eyes.

Kurapika only gazed at the woman with blank eyes, despite her eyes blazing in bright scarlet. Suddenly, Kurapika blinked once. Tamamo-no-Mae looked at her with utter surprise. In less than a heartbeat, it occurred to her that the Nue controlling Kurapika was as good as dead. Before those eyes had the chance to turn back to their natural blue hues, Tamamo-no-Mae quickly flexed her fingers of her other hand, ready to gouge out Kurapika's eyes. However, before she even had the chance to move her hand, something heavy and hard hit her square on the face.

Tamamo-no-Mae's scream reverberated through the entire forest, disturbing the inhabitants from their deep slumbers. Warm black blood splattered all over her face, hair, and kimono, however it was not the mess and gore that hurt her; it was the o-mamori charm that was wrapped around the solid object.

As soon as the object dropped to the ground, the sparks that had covered the vixen woman dissipated. When Tamamo-no-Mae finally pried her eyes open, her prey was gone from her view. Enraged, she looked around and quickly spotted Kuroro holding the stupefied Kurapika secure in his arms.

"CURSE YOOOOUUUU!" The woman with deadly beauty shrieked in rage and morphed into her true form; a golden nine-tailed vixen. Her crimson eyes glared at Kuroro with burning hatred and she bared her sharp fangs at him fiercely.

In Kurapika's point of view, everything seemed all confusing and incomprehensible. She did not understand the situation she was in; she could not think straight. She only saw without any comprehension dawning at her. Kuroro, after pushing her away from the battlefield, was fighting the vile-looking woman that had suddenly turned into an evil-looking vixen. One of his arms hung uselessly by his shoulder joint, clearly broken as a result from a previous fight. Once again, Kuroro's shirt was all tattered and bloody as how it was when he was assaulted by Jorou-gumo, though he did not seem mindful of it.

The two were suddenly engaged in a heated swirls of movements; both exchanging blows and dodging attacks. She could not follow them with her eyes, her body felt laden and sluggish. She did not even know who was having the upper hands. She caught the glint of metals now and then amidst the hurricane of movements; Kuroro was using his poisonous Benz knife against Tamamo-no-Mae though she seemed immune to the paralysing poison.

After a few moments that seemed like eternity, dark clouds suddenly gathered above them ominously. Both looked up in surprise, but the golden kyuubi was more afraid than shocked. She appeared to be terrified to the core. In an instant, the nine-tailed golden vixen turned around to flee the scene, but a thunderbolt charged at her mercilessly. It almost roasted her wholly, but Kuroro could sense that an entity was controlling the strength of the thunder.

When the blast receded, it only revealed a vixen that was covered in burn marks, with the grounds around her scorched black. The vixen was still alive, albeit barely, as she still twitched now and then.

"There you are!" A familiar voice greeted Kuroro's ears, and when he looked up, he almost could not believe what he saw.

Descending from the dark sky majestically was a Kirin, and trailing after it were Suzaku and Seiryuu in their full celestial glory. It had a shape alike that of a horse, yet its body was covered with golden scales instead of soft hair. Protruding from its forehead was a solid sharp horn. Its face looked more like a dragon's than a horse's. Its fiery eyes blazed at it gazed at everything around it. When the Kirin landed soundlessly before Kuroro, he noticed that the grasses did not even bend upon contact with its hooves. Kuroro never thought that he would ever come across the legendary Kirin in his life.

Well, considering he had encountered two kinds of Phoenixes, a dragon, a tiger-man, and many other impossible creatures, he started to believe that anything could just happen in his life.

Knowing that the arrivals of those Celestial Beasts could only mean some peace at last, Kuroro allowed himself to relax a bit. He dusted his shirt and pants before turning to look at the still disoriented Kuruta. She was still sitting on the ground, looking lost and helpless.

"You," He said sharply, as if he meant to scold her, "are really good friends with troubles, aren't you?"

Still in a daze and with clouded mind, Kurapika could only respond with blinks of eye.

"Oh my, look at this." Seiryuu poked the Nue's head with the point of his shoe lightly. It rolled sideways, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

"As expected of Ishtar's adoptive son, no?" Suzaku smiled sweetly, but it only served to annoy Kuroro.

_Escaped mine attention hath it not that thou art capable of handling the situation on thine own._ The Kirin suddenly spoke, his voice majestic and charismatic. It was unknown, however, whether his comment was meant as a compliment or as a sardonic remark.

Kuroro gave no reply. Kurapika rolled her eyes; another Chiron-like creature. She would have a hard time understanding his speech. Just great.

_That little fact notwithstanding, wherefore have thee not, pray tell, do thy human kin thereof a grace their time of need?_

This time, it was clear that he was reprimanding Kuroro. Kuroro knew that the Kirin was referring to the incident back then in Saikyo. He only smirked.

"Aren't we only half humans in your eyes?"

The Kirin did a gesture that could be interpreted as a disapproving frown, if a Kirin could frown. He disliked Kuroro's insolent reply. In a flash, the Kirin had his horn pointed to Kuroro's neck, the razor-sharp tip grazing Kuroro's porcelain neck skin delicately where his artery was. Kurapika's eyes widened; she had heard that Kirin was a generally good-natured creature although they could be ferocious at certain occasions. She could physically sense the Kirin's almost instantaneous dislike towards Kuroro.

_A Kirin is a creature of justice. Could it be that he knows that this man is a criminal?_ Kurapika pondered.

"Now, now, Kirin-sama. You know very well that he almost lost his life while fighting Jorou-gumo, and now he has also suffered from broken arm from his fight with the Nue. Has he not received enough punishment for his misdeed?" Suzaku said softly as he tried to placate the Kirin's raising temper, therefore perhaps saving Kuroro's life.

"Are you not the _benevolent_ Kirin-sama?" Seiryuu, in his attempt to save the day again, purposely stressed the word 'benevolent'. "Show them mercy, my lord."

After a moment of silence, the Kirin finally relented and gave in to his subordinate's persuasion. With a huff, he moved away his dangerous horn from Kuroro's neck.

"If you are as powerful as people claim you to be, worshipped as how a God would be, then why not prove it by breaking this bind that has been plaguing us?" Kuroro said calmly.

The Kirin looked at him hard with his glowing ember-like golden eyes.

_Boy, do not mock me._ He snorted._ That curse which hath been cast unto ye is anything but a child's play for me. I shall not, howbeit, undo it for that force binding thee with that maiden cometh not from this land, and thus is not under my jurisdiction. I have not the right to meddle with affairs beyond my domain. _

Kurapika narrowed her eyes and clouds of doom hung close around her head. She had had her hopes as well, but that hope just had to be instantly dashed away.

_Heed my words, child, and thou shall be wise to do so. Break the curse and the likes thereof, thou shall wish and thenceforth thou shall take it upon thyself to venture the world in search of a creature belonging to the land whence the magic cometh. Thus is the Law that ye and we have to abide, regardless of our origins and territories. _The Kirin explained, his otherworldly voice even and trained.

Kuroro frowned. _Isthar never mentioned this._

_

* * *

_

"Genbu, the Black Tortoise of the North, will take you two to the neighbouring country. We'll see you off 'til then." Seiryuu explained as he lay down on the tatami floor of the inn where they were staying for the night.

Kuroro and Kurapika were done with their business of collecting the Scarlet Eyes in that country; it was time for them to move on. Seiryuu and Suzaku decided to tag along for the fun of it; and they did have fun in messing around with the two humans. Seiryuu mostly annoyed the hell out of Kurapika by playfully flirting with her, while Suzaku targeted Kuroro as his unfortunate prey. It took all wits he had to stir some annoyance in the stoic man, though.

When night came and the two humans had retreated into their slumber, Suzaku kept himself awake. Seiryuu never ceased to amuse him, even after centuries of knowing him; there he was snoring lightly as he slept undisturbed while he actually did not even need any sleep. When he was sure that Kuroro and Kurapika was deep asleep, he inched closer towards them and whispered.

"Come out, Hassamunnin. This Suzaku requires private audience with you."

Soon enough, the red bind that enshrouded Kuroro and Kurapika wavered. A tiny blue speck of light appeared and extracted itself from the red bond. It hovered hesitantly above the two sleeping figures, before it materialised itself into a solid form of the child-looking genie.

_Greetings, Lord Suzaku. It's a pleasure to personally meet you._ The genie bowed deeply.

"The pleasure is mine." Suzaku greeted him politely in return. "My reason for calling you now in the dead of the night is because I have a question regarding those two. I have been wondering: what do you think of their relationship?"

Hassamunnin openly gawked at the feminine looking man dressed in oriental dress.

_Seriously, Lord Suzaku, you are asking the obvious question. Even without me telling you, surely you have seen and understood their relationship?_

"Well, Hassamunnin, I just want to have some confirmation. You have been with them constantly, binding them to each other. How do you perceive the depth of their relationship? As the third person in this ragtag team of self-proclaimed enemies, surely you know it best." Suzaku smiled, but there was an authority in his voice.

_Do you wish to hear the truth, or do you wish to hear what you want to hear?_ The genie smirked at him mischievously.

"Have I not made myself clear?" Suzaku said with his lips drawn into a thin line.

Hassamunnin gulped. Suzaku's rank was way higher than his, and moreover he was currently in Suzaku's land, so he had to abide by the man's whims and orders. Sighing heavily, he told him whatever he was thinking of the two; truthfully.

_Y'know, those two are hopeless. This Kuroro guy is still blissfully unaware of his growing fondness of the girl. He was incredibly dense in this matter, considering his intelligence and all, while the girl is still denying the obvious fact that Kuroro genuinely cares about her. Such dunderheads, they are!_

The genie said all those like the torrent of sub-machine guns. He sounded more like complaining than answering Suzaku's question. Suzaku only laughed softly.

"Quite true. Nonetheless, what do you think they need? Things cannot go on like this forever, something has to change."

_Mister, surely you understand that they are not your wards and you are not responsible for them? Why are you bothering yourself about improving their relationship? Whether they kill each other or whatever else, it shouldn't concern you, right? _The genie asked with deep frown etched on his smooth bald forehead. He cocked his head sideways, not understanding Suzaku's desire to play a part in the two humans.

"Well, just take it that I am itching to help them since the first time I heard of their case?" He answered while grinning.

_Nonsense. Are you sure you are helping them? What you deem as helps may simply be troubles for them, y'know?_ The genie snorted in mocking amusement.

Suzaku only smiled. "Then, what say you?"

Hassamunnin frowned at him, but nonetheless told him what he had in his minds.

_They still lack the solid foundation that serves to build a new relationship on top of the old, bitter one. The most problem comes from that mule-head of a girl. She is still deeply traumatised and the scar may probably take some more years to completely heal. It only takes a tiny-wee-bit of provocation to evoke her agitation regarding her clan's demise, _the genie ranted on while shrugging his tiny shoulders nonchalantly.

"Solid foundation, huh? It reminds me of a piece of conversation that I overheard from two gossiping ladies."

_You, eavesdropping gossiping women? _The genie shot him dubious looks, but Suzaku continued on with his sentences as if he had not heard Hassamunnin's critical remarks.

"They mention that children are the only solid foundation in a family."

_Wait a second, you don't mean…_ Hassamunnin frowned at the Phoenix.

"If you are thinking what I am thinking; which I assume you are, then you know precisely what I mean." Suzaku gave him an enigmatic smile, and ended their little discussion.

* * *

The next day, they reached the shore by early noon. Seiryuu quickly ran off towards the beach excitedly like how a little child would. Kurapika and Kuroro looked around; there was no sign of life there; only a barren shore. Barren was not really the right words; perhaps pristine would be a more suitable word. The beach was sparkling white, the sands untainted by human's hands.

"Heeeey, Genbu! Old man, where are you?" Seiryuu started shouting on top of his lungs, while kicking the grains of sand thoughtlessly. "You have guests here!"

THWACK!

The sound of a blunt weapon hitting Seiryuu's head was so loud that all eyes were instantly directed to the source of it. Suddenly, an old man with hunched back was already towering over Seiryuu, who was doubling up as he clutched his abused head. The old man had an ancient black turquoise shell on his back, wearing an old-fashioned garment and holding a twisted wooden stick. His ashen white beard hung from his face like a dishevelled curtain, brushing the sands lightly as he moved about.

"Insolent youngster! Is that how you treat your elder, eh? Brazen fool! Calling me an old man while you are only a few decades short from my age! Young people this age, they deify young looks while not paying attention to the real value of wisdom!"

Despite his ancient look, the old man sure was a tough nut to crack. He whacked Seiryuu repeatedly and mercilessly with his oak staff, scolding him severely all the while.

"That hurts! Old man! Ow, ow! Stop hitting me with your cane!"

"Genbu-san, if you continue, you'll bash in his head. If he gets amnesiac because of your abuse, imagine how disastrous it will be." Suzaku said gently as he approached the two bickering pair.

"Oh, you are right! Absolutely right, Suzaku! Oh my, when will this lad learn your wisdom, eh?" Genbu shook his head as if in great dismay.

"Unfair! Suzaku is always your favourite! That's why you always abuse me! I should sue your for child-abuse!" Seiryuu pulled the old man's beard rudely.

The two then started to engage in a childish fight, leaving Suzaku only to giggle uncontrollably upon seeing the spectacle. Kuroro and Kurapika were at loss on what to do. Kurapika wanted to laugh because the two reminded her of Killua and Gon when they fought for some childish reasons; Kuroro thought that the two of them were such idiots.

"Ignore them. This is just one of their daily routines." Suzaku said while fanning his blushing face (because of the laugh) with his hand as he approached them again. "Anyway, before you go, take this with you."

Suzaku gave them a piece of glowing feather that looked like a red peacock feather.

"It's one of my feathers. It will come in handy in the near future," he turned to Kuroro specifically, "and I'm sure you will know when to make good use of it."

Kuroro raised an eyebrow at the implication of his words, but nonetheless took the feather silently and tucked it into the safety of his backpack. Soon enough, they could see Genbu tottering towards them with a beaten up Seiryuu trailing after him.

"Ah, shall we go now, eh? Ready to sail, younglings?" He grinned at them as how a witty old man would.

"Anytime." Kurapika answered.

Genbu nodded with satisfaction, and then he tottered towards the shore. When he stepped into the ocean, he started to transform into a giant black tortoise, as per his title.

"Hop on his back. Let's just hope that he won't throw you into the ocean." Seiryuu said with a playful smirk directed at Kurapika.

Kurapika's face bleached, and it did not escape Kuroro's keen observation. He then made a mental note: Kurapika Kuruta could not swim.

* * *

Everything around them was grandiosely blue. It was no wonder; they were physically underwater but by Genbu's grace they were protected by his magic which allowed them to breathe underwater. They were enjoying the short journey, with all the ocean riches for their viewing pleasure, when suddenly Genbu stopped swimming forward and instead floated in the warm water.

As if answering to their cue, both Kuroro and Kurapika looked up and beheld a very odd scene before them.

_Oho? Looks like this is it._ The ancient-looking tortoise hummed.

"Meaning?" Kurapika asked while gaping at a gigantic man floating underwater, holding a trident in his hand. Surely that giant was not going to skewer them with it, right?

_Time to say goodbye, children._

Without any warnings whatsoever, Genbu suddenly ditched them from his hard-shelled back. In no time, the two of them found themselves all wet and unable to breathe, as how it should have been when they were underwater. Kurapika instantly went panicky the moment she was engulfed in the darkness of the vast ocean. It reminded her of the nightmarish day when she plunged herself into the sea in attempt to go back to her land in search of her brother. It was a piece of unpleasant memory that had been revived unwittingly by Seiryuu's random remark.

Frantically she flailed her arms around her like a mad person. Kuroro tried to calm her down, but instead he was rewarded with beatings and scratching from the Kuruta girl. Suddenly, when Kuroro was about to decide on knocking the light out of Kurapika to make things easier, they were surrounded by a gentle light. He felt a pull as they ascended towards the water surface rapidly.

In no time, they found themselves being trashed by the wave onto the shore. They stumbled into a messy heap; Kuroro being on top of Kurapika (for the umpteenth time during their journey together) with sands assaulting and cushioning them at the same time. Crude sands entered their mouths and they went into a coughing fit.

As soon as Kuroro was finally rid of the sands in his mouth, he looked up and his dark eyes fell on the hazy figure hovering above the ocean. Seeing the gigantic man from the shore under the bright sunlight, Kuroro was able to see the complete feature of that man. His skin was all blue and sleek, and he had no expression on his face. His beard hung from his chin like masses of blue seaweeds. His dress was the only thing that provided information on the origin of that man.

"Manannan mac Lir." Kuroro whispered with a frown.

The sea suddenly howled ferociously, as if announcing the arrival of a tsunami or sea storm. Manannan mac Lir, one of the renowned Sea Gods, went back into his deep blue dwelling. He did not even spare them a word of greetings or anything else. What an unfriendly fellow.

Kurapika finally coughed out the seawater and sands from her mouth. She was a total mess; she was thoroughly soaked wet from head to toe; her golden hair dishevelled, her clothing sticking wet on her body, and she felt terribly cold. The shore was windy, and it gave her chills. She had no wish to get any cold. She had had enough of being sick and being nursed by that accursed Spider Head.

_Kuroro, Kurapika!_

A familiar voice greeted them before Kurapika could start cussing around as she usually did when she was utterly pissed off. When she looked up, she felt that her day was turning for the better. Una was galloping towards them in delight; sands flying around in her wake.

"Una!"

The unicorn slipped her head into Kurapika's embrace, careful not to skewer her with her horn, though. She licked Kurapika's face happily, and then turned to Kuroro to do the same. Although the Spider Head did not mind the affection, he just wished that Kurapika was not looking at him with that kind of mocking expression on her face. He knew that the girl always enjoyed every bit of bliss of witnessing him getting slightly flustered by Una's inexorable showers of affections towards him.

Kurapika used to do that just to spite him, but right now the spiteful thought did not come across her mind. It simply had become a habit to her; and habits died hard.

"She has been waiting for your arrival faithfully for days."

The voice gripped their attention and both turned to the owner of that bass voice. While Kurapika seemed alert, Kuroro was more surprised than anything else. He recognised that voice. Apparently, fate had more surprises in store for him.

There, at the outskirt of the forest that bordered the shore, were two men standing casually next to each other. It seemed that they were travelling companions. Kuroro could not help but to slightly gawk when his gaze landed on those two men.

One had a youthful face with a look in his eyes that said that he thirsted for more adventures. He wore a turban of some sort, concealing most of his hair but strands of his jet black hair escaped the bound of the turban. His clothing was practical and he seemed to be at ease. His hands were in his pockets.

The other one was a man with dark ochre skin. He had long unbound hair, and it seemed as if he had not taken any haircuts for a few good years, probably decades. He had a cheeky grin on his face despite his grim visage. His hair was platinum gold, a stark contrast to his companion's hair and his very own skin. His clothing was minimal with only a piece of clothing to just decently cover most of his skin.

_They have been keeping me company since the past few days._ Una told them.

"And aren't you now fluent with your speech?" Kurpika said with delight as she rubbed her face on Una's smooth, puffy cheek.

Kuroro, meanwhile, still stared at them as if he was seeing ghosts. Kurapika frowned at this.

"What's the matter?" She asked gingerly. _They don't seem to mean any harms judging from their body language. Una seems to accept them as well._

Kuroro finally parted his lips and two words escaped his mouth like a ghost's whisper.

"Ging. Anansi."

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: This chapter is kind of weird, or so I think. In any case, Tamamo-no-Mae is quite famous in Japanese legend. As you can see by now I made Seiryuu a womaniser (I hope any Seiryuu fans out there don't butcher me for this) I just love the part when Seiryuu and Genbu fought *grin grin* And I know that Byakko sounds like a stuck-up guy here, but I just don't know what kind of personality should fit him. I was trying to make all four of them with different personalities. A question: do you understand the implication of Suzaku's words at the end of his conversation with Hassamunnin?_

_**Next**__: Kuroro mentioned Ging and Anansi. So Kuroro Lucifer actually knew Gon's father? What's the story behind it? Also, why are they there in the first place? It was too good to be a coincidence._


	22. Chapter 22: Fairy Tale Comes Into Life

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own HunterxHunter, sadly._

_**Story so far: **__All business done in Hanzo's country, they moved on to the next country. Who would expect them to meet with Ging and Anansi? What kind of weird events would unfold before them next?_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 22**

_**FAIRY TALE COMES INTO LIFE**_

_**

* * *

**_

"Kuroro, m'boy! My, how grown up you are now!"

The lanky man with dark ochre skin and platinum blond hair charged at Kuroro with an open embrace, but eventually he was only able to hug empty air. At the last minute, Kuroro dodged his 'embrace'. The man gave him a teary puppy-eye kind of look.

"It's been almost 15 years since the last time I saw you and is this how you treat your daddy?"

Kurapika's jaws dropped unceremoniously while Kuroro frowned deeply.

"Da—daddy?" She exclaimed with a degree of horror in her voice.

"Cut it out, Anansi. Don't go around making false claims, especially about you being my father. It's annoying." Kuroro said deadpan, clearly displeased.

The man pouted.

"You are not cute anymore. You used to be so adorable." He approached Kuroro slowly and actually managed to ruffle his dark, wet (yeah, they were still soaked wet from head to toe) hair playfully. "But you'll always be my little boy, eh?"

"Stop it. I'm your little boy no longer." Kuroro pushed away Anansi's away. "I'll be 27 this year."

Speaking of age, it reminded Kurapika of birthday. Speaking of birthday, she just remembered that her birthday was coming soon. Well, it was not like it would make any difference whether her birthday was soon or not, right? After all, her birthday had become something rather insignificant in her life. What was the point of celebrating it when the people involved in her birth were no longer around? In fact, they were all gone for good.

In a fleeting moment, her thought went to her only friends; Leorio, Gon, Killua, and Senritsu. Even Bashou. How nice it would be to celebrate her birthday with them. That thought, however, was immediately pushed aside as she knew all too well that it was a mistake to hope for that wish to happen.

"Twenty seven! Oh dear! So this will be your girlfriend, right? Right? After all, this is the age where you'll be looking for one."

Anansi quickly turned to regard Kurapika; or more precisely, as Kuroro dubbed silently, targeted her as his next victim.

"Hello there, dear. Nice to meet you. Well, well, my boy does have a good eye on women, doesn't he, eh?"

"Anansi, judging from the look she gives us, I don't think she is his girlfriend. If anything, I suspect she is far from it." Ging said he approached his odd companion while stifling a deep amused laughter.

"Really? Aw, that's too bad. Isn't she the cutest thing ever?" Anansi said while tapping Kurapika's cheeks lightly with his spidery fingers with unconcealed excitement.

Kurapika was still so shocked, being confronted by a very peculiar man like Anansi without any prior warning, that she could do no retaliation upon being treated so childishly. Under normal circumstances, she would have growled at him and warned him not to treat her like a child.

"Frankly speaking, I think it's you who needs a bit more of growing up to do." Ging said as he jabbed an accusing finger lightly at Anansi's chest.

"Don't be mean so me, Ging." Anansi pouted at him; something that he seemed to be fond of doing.

Hearing the name 'Ging', an image of Gon immediately flashed in Kurapika's mind. All fluster forgotten, she snapped to give Ging a sharp look.

"You are Gon Freecs' father, right?"

Ging raised an eyebrow, and so did Kuroro. Anansi, on the other hand, was as clueless as an infant.

"So he is Gon's father? No wonder the uncanny resemblance." Kuroro nodded slowly as some explanation finally enlightened him.

"You two know my son?" Ging asked with an unconcealed excitement, his eyes blazing with delight.

"Gon is looking for you everywhere!" She exclaimed, feeling rather cross at Ging's unfair treatment towards his own son.

"So he takes up my challenge, huh?" Ging actually sounded very pleased with it.

"Why are you making his life so hard?" Kurapika almost stomped her feet in exasperation, but she refrained herself from doing it out of respect for Gon's father.

Ging gave her a small smile.

"Young lady, please understand our situation. This is an agreement that we indirectly made. I have told him in my message that if he really wants to see me, then he'll have to catch me. Otherwise, I won't recognise him as a true Hunter yet."

The man, who looked like a grown-up version of Gon, cast a faraway look towards the horizon, a look of longing in his brown eyes.

"Besides, I have given up being a father. I feel that I am not qualified to see him."

His voice and words were so earnest that Kurapika had no choice but to feel sympathetic towards him.

"But Gon wants to see you so badly." She said with small voice.

"Then he'll have to track me down with equal fervour." Ging smiled at her like how Gon would. The similarity was almost giving her the chill.

Kurapika's head hang low in dejection; she could not retaliate with his reasoning. Cold wind blew around the shore, making her involuntarily shudder and sneeze; she was still soaked wet.

"Oh, my bad. I should've done something about it." Anansi then waved his hand and just so suddenly, they were all dry.

"What was that?" Kurapika asked as she marvelled on how clean and dry she was; while a mere second ago she had been an untold mess.

"It's a secret." He winked at her.

"Then, what brings you here? Surely not to simply say hello to us." Kuroro said while eyeing them with a degree of calculation.

"That is precisely what we intends to do. You haven't changed, Kuroro. Still the cynical boy as ever; doubting people's good-will." Ging smiled at him, but there was something like regret in that smile. It was as if he felt bad that Kuroro was being cynical at all.

Kuroro did not respond to Ging's remark.

"After all, we are your Nen teachers, aren't we? It's only natural for teachers to check on their pupils, no?" Ging continued.

Kurapika's eyes widened. She had investigated a little about Ging for Gon, and from her researches and the scarce results they brought, she could only conclude that Ging was powerful and influential enough to wield the position of a president of a country. Anansi was a magical creature, as proven by the little magic he did just earlier. To think that Kuroro Lucifer as those kind of people as his teachers, it was no wonder that he was as powerful and skilled as he was right now.

It kind of made her envious. She only had a somewhat gullible teacher as her Nen mentor; one that she could treat a little disrespectfully.

"That done, now what are you going to do?"

"Hmm… What are we going to do again, Ging?" Anansi turned to ask his companion.

"Try to remember things more, will you?" Ging rolled his eyes heavenward. "We've heard that you are collecting the Scarlet Eyes."

"And?" Kuroro knew where this was leading to.

Kurapika's senses were alerted when she heard of Scarlet Eyes. Suddenly, the weight of the three pairs of Scarlet Eyes that she kept in her backpack seemed to be so apparent. The other three pairs of Scarlet Eyes were with Kuroro; they managed to collect all six pairs of them back then in Hanzo's country.

"And I take it that the girl here is a Kurutan. You are doing her this favour?"

"Your point?" Kuroro was getting impatient. From the way they talked, he knew that they had been informed by the other magical creatures; Una was the one he suspected the most. It was not like he minded it, though. In addition, he did not deny Ging's statement of him doing Kurapika the _great _favour.

"We are taking you to the nearest Scarlet Eyes."

"Come again?" This time, it was Kurapika who responded. More exactly, she exclaimed.

"We'll be taking you to the nearest Scarlet Eyes." Anansi generously repeated for Kurapika, whose eyes were already glimmering with hope and gratefulness by then. "But it's located in Perussa."

"That is very far away from here. It's on the other side of the continent; more precisely at the border." Kuroro frowned as he calculated the distance they would have to cover. It would take weeks to reach there.

"And so we are taking shortcut; the Fairy Ring!" Anansi declared proudly. "After all, Perussa is still within the Erin continent."

"The Fairy Ring?" Kuroro and Kurapika's voice rang in unison.

"Come with us, you'll see it with your own eyes."

And so they marched into the depth of the woods.

* * *

Soon enough, they found out the famous Fairy Ring was literally a ring drawn on the ground by means of unearthly power. The ring glittered faintly during daylight, but during night it glowed softly.

"Stand in the middle of the ring and take care that none of your body parts are beyond the circle. You don't want to leave behind a toe or an arm here, do you?" Anansi said in a sing-song voice.

And so they squeezed in the tiny circle, trying to keep a safe distance from the inside of the perimeter of the so-called Fairy Ring.

"And?" Kurapika asked unsurely. She did not like the idea of her standing so close to Kuroro; not when they had gone through so much to expand the bind so as to allow them more personal space.

"Now where is that tiny little thiiiing?" Anansi muttered to himself as he looked around the vicinity.

"Found her!" Ging exclaimed as he moved swiftly to catch something that seemed to have been floating in the air.

_KYAAAAAAAH!_

A tiny little voice filled the air like the weak chime of a delicate bell.

_You barbarians! Hands off me! Wait until I report this outrageous abuse to my Queen Titania!_

The shrill shriek was so faint that if Kuroro and Kurapika had not paid extra attention they would not have noticed her. In Ging's grip was a glowing tiny little girl with glowing butterfly wings, with eyes the pale purple colour of lily. She struggled to free herself from Ging's hands, but all her efforts were fruitless.

"Relax, Lilias. It's me." Ging said softly as he tried to calm the tiny little girl, but the thumb-sized girl kept screaming, ignoring Ging's beseech at her to quiet down.

Of course, from the first glimpse, both Kuroro and Kurapika instantly knew that the tiny little girl was none other than a fairy. It just made sense; if they were to use a Fairy Ring, of course they would need a fairy.

_Lilias…_ Una approached the rampaging fairy, and her voice actually reached Lilias.

_Una! Help me!_ She implored the Unicorn tearfully.

_But Lilias, he means no harms. Look closer._ Una told her softly and gently.

With sobs and whimpers, Lilias finally looked up and saw Ging's grinning face. In a matter of second, her pitiful expression turned into an enraged one.

_YOU! How dare you treating me like this, you ruffian! Buffoon!_

"My bad, but we need your help." Ging said apologetically as he let go of the seething fairy. As soon as she was free from his grip, she dashed towards Una and settled on her silvery mane.

_You think I'll help you after your ill-treatment towards me?_ The little fairy said with her cheek puffed.

"Like I said, I'm at fault. Please forgive me, Lilias, but we really need your help. Only you can help us, you see."

Lilias blushed upon hearing it.

"Flattery mode on. That's it. She's giving in. I'm telling you guys, Ging can talk his way to women's beds if he puts slight efforts into it." Anansi told Kuroro and Kurapika while shaking his head slowly, clearly incredulous with Ging's uncanny ability of sweet-talking with girls.

Of course none of them knew that his son; Gon Freecs, had inherited the same natural ability.

* * *

The path of the Fairy Ring was as ethereal as it could be. Everything seemed to be glittering and translucent; it was as if they were riding an aurora. There were no definite pathways, though. As far as eyes could see, there were only endless glittering pathways, intermingling with each others, bending this way and that way. It was impossible to see the end of those pathways.

With the guidance of Lilias, they were riding on one of the glittering pathways. For the faerie folks, the Fairy Ring was just as straight-forwards as any highways would be in human standard. Their eyes could see which pathways led to which Fairy Rings. There were other fairies that were crossing the Fairy Path, giggling and chattering with their chiming voices. The list of Fairy Rings scattered all around the continent was almost endless. It was most like the Ghost Path back then in Suzaku and friends' territory; it was a shortcut that could lead anywhere in the confinement of the Erin continent.

Anansi walked by Kuroro's side, interrogating him of what he had been doing for the past 15 years. In the end, Kuroro came to the ultimate question that had been bugging his mind since the first time Anansi and Ging offered to help them.

"Are you helping us by Ishtar's biding?"

Anansi looked at him with wide eyes and open jaw.

"Heavens, no! She's never asked me anything; as usual. If anything, I was the first one to ask about you."

They fell into a deep silence as they traversed the unearthly passage of the Faerie Realm. The little elves and fairies giggled around them happily, commenting about their odd appearance and the unusual occurrence of a band of humans travelling via the Fairy Path.

"Ishtar and I brought you up like we would do our own son." Anansi said absentmindedly.

"Play husband-and-wife with her to your heart content, I will have no part in it." Kuroro said, rather too coldly.

"Still in a cold war with her?"

Kuroro did not answer. Actually, deep in his heart he no longer felt any old resentment towards his surrogate mother. Instead of speaking it out loud to Anansi, Kuroro kept everything to himself and left Anansi's question unanswered.

Several paces behind them, Ging paced himself so that he was walking next to Kurapika.

"Anansi told me that Kuroro has a bad childhood."

"So he does." Kurapika muttered in agreement as she remembered the past shown to her by Phoenix.

"And I heard you have quite a bitter past, and the cause was none other than Kuroro."

"You are not mistaken." Kurapika responded evenly, her voice even and trained.

"…You have gone through a lot, haven't you?" He smiled warmly at her and patted her golden hair. "You are strong."

Kurapika's heart seemed to freeze and skipped a beat. Those very words, 'you are strong'; they reminded her of her oath to her dead brother that she would be strong. She looked up and her gaze landed on Kuroro's back; a back that she had gotten so used on seeing.

_Am I really strong? _She wondered, and doubts started to resurface. _Or have I just simply lost my way?_

_

* * *

_

"Your Scarlet Eyes will be in a mansion in this particular town. Tell us if you need any helps, we'll be waiting here." Anansi said as he gestured at the town before them.

With that, both Anansi and Ging made their disappearance. Una would be staying in the safety of the woods; it was never safe for a very unusual creature such as her to wander into a human dwelling. Besides, staying among impurities for too long a period was not healthy for a Unicorn like her.

"What now?" Kurapika asked as they walked down the winding path heading towards the entrance of the town.

"First thing first, let's gather some information. Standard procedure."

Inside, Kurapika felt all squeamish. She was yet planning another plundering of another person's house. Albeit the object they were going to steal rightfully belonged to her; or so she claimed, it still did not sit in well with her conscience. Stealing was bad, and it would always be so for her.

Her uneasiness did not escape Kuroro's keen observation of his surrounding. He spared her a sideway glance.

"You'll get used to this."

Kurapika scowled at him. "I don't want to get used to this."

"Suit yourself." Kuroro only shrugged.

If she did not want to get all too comfortable with thievery, it was not his problem. He would not impose his ideals on her; and so she ought to do likewise. It was an unspoken agreement between the two of them; an agreement that had no clear beginning or origin. There were a lot of things between them that had suddenly become so natural that they never bothered about tracking them down. 'Minding each other business' was one of the oldest agreement that they came up with.

At the same time, both never thought of considering the implication of these silent agreements; they were accepting each other.

* * *

Several leagues away from Kuroro and Kurapika, Ishtar was again staring at her magical water mirror, speaking to someone else from the other part of the world.

"I am very surprised that you will lend them a helping hand at all," she said with husky voice, "Kirin-sama."

After the confrontation with Tamamo-no-Mae, the golden kyuubi who was obsessed with Kurapika's Scarlet Eyes in particular, the Kirin had forced her into submission and made her return Kurapika's other Scarlet Eyes. That was how Kurapika was able to collect all six pairs of Scarlet Eyes in that region in a relatively short amount of time.

_For my country's sake hast I done it, and neither for thee nor thy child. Those Scarlet Eyes, they were ill-destined. Best it is to spare my country from such bringer of calamity. _The Kirin spoke majestically and archaically, as per normal.

"Ill-destined? Perhaps, considering its tragic origin." Ishtar nodded wistfully.

_Your child and consort, they walk the path of thorns. Forgive my rude intrusion, my lady, but pray tell me of their history. It intrigues me so,_ the reflection of the Kirin on Ishtar's water surface shifted slightly, as if he himself was not so comfortable with the issue yet was too curious to let it go.

Isthar only smiled at him.

"I am afraid I cannot do you that favour, my dear Kirin. I wish not to create any more chasms between him and me. Regarding him and his history, you will have to ask the person himself."

Little did the Kirin know that the same answer had been given to Kurapika a few months ago. At the same time, it seemed that Kurapika was starting to get the answer she was seeking, though the girl herself seemed oblivious to her 'longing' to know more about her self-proclaimed enemy.

* * *

"And so, will you be generous enough to give us lodging for the night?" Anansi asked as politely as he could.

The lord of the mansion; who was too insignificant to be named here, eyed him with suspicion, but nonetheless gave the group a nod of approval. After all, the ragtag group of four seemed to carry interesting stories with them, and interesting stories entertained him.

"Thank you so much, good lord. May the Gods smile upon you." Anansi bowed at the lord, but inwardly snickered since he knew that the opposite would befall the lord.

And so without any more unnecessary formalities, the guests were ushered to their appointed room. Since Kuroro and Kurapika claimed to be husband and wife; something that Kurapika had vehemently objected against but apparently was a lost cause since Ging and Anansi supported Kuroro's idea for a reason she dared not to ask. If anything, she could literally see the mischievous glints in those eyes of Ging and Anansi; those two weirdos.

The whole plan was so terribly simple that Kurapika almost could not believe it. Kuroro and Kurapika pretended to be unfortunate nobleman and his wife who got robbed in their journey, and were later accompanied by Ging and Anansi; travellers who happened to pass by and offered help to them. Anansi would take care of the security in his own way while the two were off to take the Scarlet Eyes.

"Now what?" Kurapika asked rather curtly since she was still upset with the idea of her pretending to be that man's wife. What outrageous plan!

She slumped to a chair in the bedroom with her face rather sour. Moreover, she was forced to wear a dress! A freaking dress, as she had said. It was the halter neck dress that she had worn last time when they attended a party with some of the Genei Ryodan posing as their bodyguards to steal the Scarlet Eyes. Well, the fateful night when she had unfortunately turned drunken because of liquor.

Kuroro simply ignored her complaints and went to the balcony of the mansion. He scanned the backyards briefly, and finally decided that it would be simpler to simply break in from within the mansion itself.

"We'll move when nightfall comes. The lord and the servants should be asleep by then, leaving only the guards. They will be easy to take care, I believe." He announced his plan.

Kurapika only grunted unhappily, telling him that she was listening and had no objections whatsoever.

When nightfall came, Kuroro and Kurapika slipped from their bedroom and dropped by Anansi's room. Kuroro poked into the room, made a quick gesture at his two 'mentors' that he was initiating the plan. Anansi merely nodded.

Kuroro and Kurapika walked briskly and as stealthily as possible through the winding corridors of the mansion. It was not a mansion too large that Kuroro could not navigate himself within the building. One look at the outside of the mansion and a brief look inside the building, and he was able to crudely determine the layout of the building. It was a skill he had honed after years of being in the thieving business.

At one turn of the corridor, Kuroro stopped before they made the turn. He turned to face Kurapika and gave her a tiny perfume bottle. Kurapika gave him a quizzical look.

"You know what to do." He only said as he gestured at the turn of the corridor with a soft jerk of his head.

Kurapika frowned unhappily. Truth to be told, Kuroro had just taught her on how to make use of her 'womanly charms' to get things her way. Kurapika had cringed at his use of words; it did not sound right to her. Nonetheless, upon Kuroro's insistence, she gave up.

Inhaling deeply, Kurapika braced herself; her pride to be exact, for the worst.

* * *

The man in uniform yawned widely as boredom was eating him up. The job had a fairly good payment, but it was just downright tedious. When he yawned again for the umpteenth time of the night, a soft thud attracted his attention.

_At last, something actually happens!_ He exclaimed hopefully in his thought.

When he turned, he saw the blonde guest crouching on the floor, holding her ankles gingerly. Without a second thought, he approached the girl.

"Hey, lass. What're you doing in the dead of the night like this?" He asked while trying to sound as gentle as possible.

"Oh? Pardon me. My ankle hurts." The blonde guest said with husky voice that teased his ears. What a sweet voice!

He crouched down to look closer on what was the problem with her. She was holding her ankles as if it was hurting. The blonde shifted uncomfortably in her position, her dress that was parted on the sides up to her upper thigh slipping gracefully to reveal a good portion of her leg.

"Did you sprain your ankle, girly?" He smiled warmly at her, but his eyes travelled from her ankles to her thigh.

_Hoo boy. _He thought as he began to drool at her slim, long, milky thigh. _Her legs are beautifully long, dammit._ He cussed happily as the wolf in him started to awaken. Well, being a bachelor for the longest time of his life, it was no wonder that the good guard was having quite the craving for a female flesh.

"Mister?" The blonde asked with small, _inviting_ voice.

"Uh? Oh, ah, yeah?" The guard returned to attention awkwardly.

When he turned to face the blonde again instead of staring hungrily at her legs, the blonde was already holding a bottle of perfume or the sort to his face. The blonde smiled warmly at him.

"Good night."

And something cool was sprayed on his face.

And he turned dizzy and sleepy suddenly.

And he kissed the floor noisily with his entire face.

* * *

Kurapika sighed heavily as she inched away when the guard fell forwards towards her, so that he would kiss the floor instead of hitting her. The whole process was a pure torture to her. She felt like her dignity had all crumbled into dusts and was blown away by the wind.

_This is just too much,_ she bitterly grumbled as she stood up and dusted her legs.

A series of soft clap awoke her from her grudging reverie. When she turned around, she was faced with a very amused and pleased Kuroro.

"That was wonderfully done."

"If that was meant to be a compliment, I don't feel complimented at all." She said dryly as she shot him a dirty look.

"You don't want bloodshed, so you simply have to work for it." He smiled at her again, clearly pleased that she had really been listening to his advice about 'womanly charms' and had actually put it into good practice.

Kurapika tsk-ed rudely before she turned her attention to the snoring guard on the floor, and then to the bottle in her hand.

"What is this, anyway?"

"A special concoction by Anansi. Only God knows what is inside it, and I have the feeling that we are better off not knowing the ingredients he used to make it." Kuroro shrugged as he walked past the fallen guard uncaringly. "He said the person sprayed with it will forget anything just before the sleep spell kicks in; which means he won't remember you tricking him at all."

_Or showcasing my legs at him._ She growled in her mind, but decided not to express it out loud for the fear that if she told him of her agitation, he would simply tease her of it to no end. The man was really taking advantage of him, and it was grating on her nerves.

And so the process was repeated for quite a few times that Kurapika almost broke down from the shame.

"How many times more do I have to do this?" She exclaimed in a harsh whisper as she squatted on the floor and covered her face with both her hands.

Her words seemed more like a whine than anything to Kuroro's ears. The older man looked at her with mild pity. She seemed to be really taking this kind of things hard. Well, given his education and upbringing, he was already so used to using any means to get his way, but the girl was totally unexposed to using 'dirty tricks' to get her way.

"Kurapika." He had only started, when the corner of his eyes caught something coming their way.

Rather too crudely, Kuroro gripped her by the arm and hauled her to her feet with a force that caught her off-guard. Without any prior warning that he should have given her, he seized her waist and pressed her body close to his. Shocked, Kurapika gasped but the man took this opportunity to seal those lips of hers with his.

Kurapika felt that her mind had gone haywire and she could not think straight. She could do nothing and was limp in his embrace. Her hands involuntarily dropped the bottle she was holding and it dropped to the carpeted floor with a soft clink. When Kuroro's tongue accidentally bumped against her tongue, she felt as if a mild electric current ran through her whole being and she felt a very profound tingling sensation along her spine. It numbed her senses and turned her into jelly.

Kuroro did not know whether it was his sub-consciousness that was kicking or his male instinct, but feeling her submissive in his arms, he felt compelled to act further. This time, he purposely licked the inner ceiling of her mouth. This act, unfortunately, served to awaken Kurapika from her trance.

She started to put in resistance as she tried to pull away. Kuroro, equally persistent, held on to her by grabbing the scruff of her neck and pushing her towards him. They then engaged in a silly game of tug-o-war. Kurapika, out of desperation, grabbed Kuroro's face by its sides and tried to physically pull away his head. Unfortunately, such gesture made their kiss even seems more passionate than before.

Though it seemed that their kiss lasted for so long, in reality it only lasted for a few fleeting second before someone had to rudely intrude them.

"Hey, you! What are you do—"

Apparently the guard understood that he was stepping into the very wrong moment when his eyes landed on the two 'couple'. He flushed immediately and out of instinct turned around to give them his back.

"P, p, pa, pardon my intrusion." He stuttered awkwardly. "I didn't know that you two are busy." He whispered as he tried to go back to his post.

Just as he took one step, suddenly his vision turned all black and he succumbed into oblivion. Little did he know that the reason of his sudden black-out was none other than Kuroro, who was already standing behind him in his full glory with one hand raised. He had knocked the back of his neck with enough force to knock him out without having to kill him.

Behind him, Kurapika was leaning against the wall with her back and was panting furiously. She shot Kuroro a very nasty glare, but strangely enough her eyes did not turn scarlet. As a matter of fact, it did not give any impression of ever turning into scarlet in any short time to come.

Of course Kurapika knew the reason why Kuroro suddenly kissed her when she heard the man's voice as he intruded their 'private moment'. However so, it did not justify the fact that she felt terribly, unfairly violated.

With rage, Kurapika took one broad step towards Kuroro with a hand ready to strike his face but her movement was stopped as Kuroro grabbed her wrist.

"A good wife does not strike her husband after a kiss, no?" He smiled at her.

"Perhaps not." She said with gritted teeth, yet her face was glowing bright crimson. "But tell me, dear husband, what makes you think that you can just do that in your own convenience at your own time?"

"Is it not common for husband and wife to engage in a passionate kiss?" He teased her again.

At the mention of 'passionate kiss', Kurapika's face turned lobster red.

"That may be the case." She hissed furiously and drew her face closer to him until her nose almost touched his. Her eyes blazed with wrath as she glared into the depth of his dark eyes. "But remember, Kuroro Lucifer, I am not a cheap woman that you can use just like that and in reality I am NOT, and WILL NEVER BE, your wife."

Kuroro smirked at her and leaned forward so that his forehead touched hers. She flinched as he did so.

"Well, in that case you can consider this as a training for your future life as a wife." He said with low, seducing voice.

His voice made her shudder, but she fought not let it show. She actually thought that his voice was really pleasing to her ears. That aside, picturing herself as a wife was a surprisingly hard thing to do.

"But that was my first kiss!" She hissed in protest as she pushed him away harshly.

"Oh?" His eyebrows quirked, and his eyes shone with mischief. "Well that's just too bad."

Kurapika scolwed darkly at the man, who was bending down to pick the bottle on the floor. He sauntered towards the knock-out guard and sprayed his face with the concoction, to make sure that the guard would forget ever seeing them in their 'private moment'. When he was done, he stood up and pocketed the bottle, seeing that they were already so close to the treasuries chamber. He spared Kurapika a quick glance, but he was rewarded by a very heated glare.

Kurapika stood her ground firm, but when Kuroro reached her side in a flash and curled his arm around her thin shoulder, she could not help but to turn frigid.

"Come on, we are supposed to be husband and wife. Act it out." He whispered to her in a loving voice, really immersed in his role.

"I won't let you have your fun in my expense." She hissed in annoyance at him.

Kuroro rewarded her with one of his rare boyish grin. "Will it make a difference if I told you that that was my first kiss as well?"

All mannerism and poise forgotten, Kurapika gawked unceremoniously at his face.

"You are lying." She flatly said in disbelieving voice.

"No." He said in a sing-song voice. "In fact, this is the first time I have ever held someone like this."

As if emphasising his point, he squeezed his grip on her shoulder. The gesture revived the tingling sensation coursing through her spine again and it made the flush on her cheeks deeper.

"It doesn't look like it…" She mused.

"Well, shall we proceed?" He said as he pushed her forwards with his strong arm.

Kurapika was about to give him a piece of her mind when a soft whirl of the surveillance camera screening the corridor above them took her attention.

"What about those CCTV?" She asked unsurely.

"Oh, Anansi has taken care of it." He merely said with confidence.

* * *

Ging stared at his companion with curiosity-filled huge eyes. He was lying on his stomach, looking keenly at his friend in his rare moment of displaying his uncanny heritage.

Anansi was sitting cross-legged on his bed, and his SIX arms were extended that he looked more like the statue of a Hindu God with multiple arms. All his fingers from all hands were outstretched, but his face betrayed nothing of the exertion of this odd activity that he was undertaking.

"What are you doing again?" Ging asked.

"Sabotaging the surveillance cameras. They won't be recording anything related to Kuroro and his girl." He grinned.

"Hmm… You'll really do anything for him, won't you?" Ging asked as he rolled around the bed lazily.

"Well, he is my boy." Anansi laughed softly. "And will always be my little boy regardless everything."

"You and Ishtar." Ging sighed. "You two are such doting parents. I'm surprised he doesn't turn out to be a spoiled brat."

"And that's why he's special."

Ging narrowed his eyes as he shook his head in wild wonderment.

"Doting parent, alright."

* * *

"Tell me again, what is the purpose of me doing all those shameless acts if in the end we are going to break in by force?" Kurapika asked with irk as she knocked out yet another guard, her dress flailing and flapping around her in a blurry dance of red. _Don't tell me you just want to harass me, _she thought begrudgingly.

"To avoid any unnecessary confrontation before we reach the main place." He simply answered as he killed another guard.

Such different methods of dealing with their opponents that they used, but they were almost equally efficient. Almost, because those whom Kuroro had taken care of were as good as dead and would not rise to give them further troubles again.

"It's been bothering me. How did you come to know Ging?" She asked with low voice as they made their way to the treasuries.

"Fifteen years ago, a few months before Anansi left, Ging came to Ryuuseigai in search of ruins."

Kuroro knocked the grand door leading to the treasuries with such ease, opening the treasuries all for themselves.

_Ah, yes. Gon did mention that his father is an archaeology Hunter. _Kurapika made a mental note.

"Perhaps Ging attracted Anansi's attention because of Ging's uniqueness, I don't know. But they made a quick friend with each other and soon enough it was as if they were old friends. When Ging decided to leave for more exploration of ruins around the world, Anansi simply decided to tag along with him."

"Leaving you and Ishtar." Kurapika added unsurely.

Kuroro nodded. He sauntered across the treasuries room, ignoring all other valuable items and heading directly towards the Scarlet Eye that was perching majestically among other treasures.

"Anansi has always been a curious person. He often went for a long period of time to travel. That one decision was no different." Kuroro shrugged, as if he could not care less about it.

Despite his composure on the outside, inside Kuroro was having a lot to think about. Thinking back on how he had openly laughed and smiled childishly at Kurapika when they had their little experiment with Nen, Kururo wondered on why he felt so strangely at ease with Kurapika around. She felt bile towards him, she hated him, she reviled him, but why did he feel so oddly pleased with her company? He never even acted that way in front of his Genei Ryodan family.

She was the first one to ever hear about his childhood, and he did not mind telling her at all.

Gruff voices of a guard rudely jolted him from his reverie. Hastily, Kuroro snatched the Scarlet Eyes and motioned at Kurapika to head towards the grand window. Kurapika had a bad feeling when she saw him opening the window.

"Jump."

Her horror was realised as soon as the word escaped Kuroro's lips.

"No way! I'm wearing a freaking dress!"

"You can fight while wearing it, what's the difference about jumping from this height?"

"But—"

Loud voices could be heard from the end of the corridor. Having no desire to waste any more of their precious time, Kuroro decided to take things his way. Without any warning whatsoever, he put the Scarlet Eyes in the safety of Kurapika's hands, hauled the Kurutan girl's feather-light body and carried her bridal style. Kurapika only had time to yelp and held her skirt with her one of her hands as Kuroro leaped from the broken window. Her skirt flapped wildly as they free-fell towards the ground. It took all she had so to keep the skirt in place so as not to expose her entire legs and underwear.

As soon as Kuroro's feet touched the solid ground, they could hear the galloping sound of a horse. In no time, Una made her grand appearance; she was all glittering and glowing in the darkness of the night. She charged at them, not stopping even as Kuroro jumped to mount her. With the speed that both humans had never imagined the young Unicorn was capable of before, Una spirited them away from the place.

Unfortunately, there were some Nen users who managed to catch up with them. Kurapika was the first one to notice them.

"Behind—"

"Don't talk, or you'll bite your tongue." Kuroro told her firmly, his eyes fixed on what lay ahead of them.

_I'm putting up barrier. Hold your breaths!_ Una said as she dashed into the woods.

In the perspective of the pursuers, the thieves had suddenly disappeared into thin air, as if they did not belong to the world. The two other guests that had come along with them had also disappeared without any traces, as if they had not come into the mansion in the first place. It then became a kind of legend in the area; that a prince and a princess had sprung into life from a fairy-tale and they rode away back into their world on the back of a Unicorn.

* * *

Anansi was laughing his head off.

"That was really something! Hoo boy! I've never seen such entertaining thievery before."

"Was it?" Kuroro asked absentmindedly as he dusted himself after dismounting from Una. After the wild horse-riding across the woods, dusts and dry leaves were stuck all over him.

Ging approached Kurapika and gave them their backpacks that they had left in both men's care for the time being. He briefly eyed Kurapika with a torn look in his face. He seemed to be battling with his inner self with an issue, and so Kurapika waited until he seemed ready to voice whatever thought he had in minds.

"Kurapika, when you see Gon—"

"I'm going to tell him that his father is an absolute pain." Kurapika said decisively.

While Ging seemed rather taken aback by Kurapika's fierce response for a split moment, he quickly regained his composure and gave him an amiable smile.

"Do that for me."

And with that, they parted ways. However, it only happened after Anansi managed to peck a kiss on Kuroro's cheek; which made him shudder all over.

* * *

The two had only scarcely reached a hotel in the neighbouring city when suddenly Kuroro's cell phone rang. He fished out his phone but his eyebrows quirked when he saw the name of the sender, and his eyebrows rose higher as he was finished reading the entire message.

Slowly, he pocketed his cell phone and turned to regard Kurapika.

"I just received a very interesting message."

"What of it?" Kurapika asked noncommittally as she brusquely wiped away most of the make-up; she never liked make-ups anyway. She was not so interested in it, all truth to be said.

"An old acquaintance of mine intends to showcase his most valued treasure; the Scarlet Eyes."

Kurapika's head shot up in attention at the mention of the object that was rightfully her treasure and nobody else's.

"And he invites me to the occasion, so long as I bring a female companion with me."

Kurapika raised a fine eyebrow. "Why?"

"Have you heard of Abelard Constantin?"

"No."

Kuroro gave her a crooked smile. "He is the Duke of Cenabum; quite the famous womaniser."

A muscle on Kurapika's cheek twitched involuntarily at the mention of the word 'womaniser'. She knew that Kuroro might have already schemed something that took advantage of her status as a female; and it was never a good thing. She just hoped that he would not ask her to go around flashing her bare legs again. She'd rather kill herself than doing it again.

"What are you planning?"

"I'm taking you to the party, of course." He said with even voice, as if it was the most obvious thing on Earth.

"Another party?" Kurapika said with dreadful voice.

"Yes. I guess we'll need to buy another dress for you. The last one is done for." He said as he eyed the tattered dress that Kurapika was still wearing. All the cuts on the dress were the result of them horse-riding through the woods.

"Aren't you a bit liberal in spending your money?" Kurapika narrowed her eyes unhappily. _And it's not your necessities, some more. Spending money for frivolities is really not my style._

"I find this quite refreshing." He chuckled.

"What, buying dresses?"

"Dressing you up." He corrected.

Kurapika's face turned slightly beetroot. "I'm not your doll!"

"Actually, I'm helping you fix your fashion sense." He paused for a while, and added, "and to help you be more womanly. Somewhat."

"Thank you very much." She said with thick sarcasm. "You sound as if I can't take care of my own self."

"It seems that way to me." Kuroro said with a chuckle, and on they argued about such trivial things. In the end, they settled down with attending the party.

"In any case," Kuroro finally said, getting tired of their endless arguments that were going nowhere, "you don't have to worry about being harassed by this Abelard Constantin."

"It doesn't convince me." She scowled at him.

"What can I do to convince you then?"

"Why do you need to convince me?" She asked irritably.

"Because you seem to be very troubled by that prospect." Kuroro said incredulously, as if, again, it was the most obvious thing on Earth.

"Why do you care anyway?" Kurapika, still not willing to take in his genuine concern, snapped.

"Need you ask?" Kuroro asked back.

Kurapika could only gawk.

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: I rushed to get this done in time, really. So forgive me for the lack of quality. Actually, Perussa is a name I altered from Prussia, which is the old name of Germany. Erin is the olden name of Ireland, as well. Let me know of what do you think of the 'kissing' scene here. I bet you guys won't be too satisfied with it. After all, who'll like a forced kiss? But for now, you'll have to settle with it. Don't expect Kurapika to out of the blue kiss Kuroro willingly. That's just to OOC. If you want, you can give me your answer to Kuroro's "Need you ask?" question. I'm curious to know your thoughts ^^_

_**Next**__: Kuroro would be taking Kurapika to meet with his old friend. But since it was his old friend, how would he get this friend of his, a Duke, to relinquish his possession of the Scarlet Eyes? Also, fate seemed to have more in store for these two as they unexpectedly ran into another yet odd person in the party._


	23. Chapter 23: Scarlet Tears

_**Disclaimer**__: I still do not own HunterxHunter (this is getting old…)_

_**Story so far**__: Kuroro was invited to a party by his old friend, who would be one of the owners of the Scarlet Eyes. What would happen? As Kurapika suspected, things never went normal for them. Not to mention a certain weirdo they would encounter._

_**Author's random note:**__ By golly, I never realized that the asterisks never appeared in the real view! I corrected from chapter 15 onwards, and I'll be more careful from this time onwards. You are advised to turn on your music player and play 'Konpaku no Elegie' aka Kurapika's Theme at the near ending of this chapter (like I said, I'm being random here)_

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* * *

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**Chapter 23**

_**SCARLET TEARS**_

_**

* * *

**_

The garish decoration and blinking lights occupying the whole mansion was ridiculous to Kurapika's standard. She was getting dizzy from all the flashes of lights and the bright colours. The hushed noises that the guests were making—all those formal chatters and stifled giggles—were driving her nuts. That was why she greatly disliked formal occasions such as this.

"I'm surprised that you are still not used to this," said Kuroro as he manoeuvred himself easily among the throngs of guests.

Kurapika followed closely behind him, looking disgruntled and unhappy. This time, Kuroro had insisted—forced—her to wear a tube dress. Kuroro had reasoned that she should try different types of dresses; though she did not understand why, of all kind of dresses, she had to wear a tube one. It exposed her thin, white shoulders and she felt naked and insecure in it.

As such, Kurapika developed a knack of slightly hunching over due to her lack of confidence. Many times Kuroro had to remind her not to hunch since she would look horrible that way, but on and on she repeated that gesture. When Kuroro was finally exasperated, he took it upon himself to eradicate that tendency thereof.

He quickly made his way to stand behind Kurapika—who was so distracted by the dress she did not notice that Kuroro was already standing behind him—and pulled her shoulders so that her whole back touched his chest. The girl stood frigid at this contact.

"Now you maintain this posture." Kuroro whispered to her ears, and it gave her the tingling sensation again.

With one swift move, Kuroro took his position by her side and slid his arms to her waist. In response, Kurapika stood even straighter and her back more arched.

"Until you remember this posture like your second nature, I will keep this position." Kuroro said, or more precisely, threatened her.

Oh, he knew that Kurapika disliked any skin contacts with him; a breach of personal space, as she had dubbed it. Kurapika turned to give him a scowl, but he ignored it and began shepherding her by pushing her forward lightly. She complied and walked side-by-side with him, looking very much like a lovey-dovey newlyweds—as she unfortunately overheard from a couple who happened to observe them.

They explored the hall silently, not even bothering to greet other guests whom they did not know. Kuroro had told her to look for a 'fat, balding old man with thick brush-like moustache', provided that the Duke had not changed appearance for the past few years since the last time he visited the Duke.

"Whenever _we_ have no activity, I usually spend most of my time as a scholar working for the Duke. He has incredible investment in rare treasures and others of the kind. Anything exotic and rare attracts his attention." He informed Kurapika generously, though the girl did not ask.

_No wonder he is very well informed about that kind of things—treasures and such… He is a scholar in that department,_ thought Kurapika with rolled eyes.

A fleeting shadow moved gracefully and swiftly among the crowds, clearly heading towards the couple. Kuroro noticed the coming shadow, but made no attempts to put any defence. He knew what was coming his way.

"And of course there are other scholars as well." Kuroro continued with a thin smile on his face.

"Lucifer!" A youthful voice greeted him as the shadow stopped before them, revealing a tall, lanky young man with long straight black hair that draped like a silky curtain slightly past his shoulder. His face was thin and long, with prominent cheekbones and deathly pale skin as if he had no blood underneath that porcelain skin. His eyes were the most striking feature of his entire visage; they were icy grey, like a very pale blue, with a glassy surface that gave life into those supposedly dead-like eyes.

"Boy, did I not expect to see you here! Then again, maybe I should have." The gentleman said cheerfully with his arms extended in a broad welcome.

This time, unlike that time with Anansi, Kuroro let the man to embrace him in a brotherly manner. Kurapika raised her eyebrows. If Kuroro allowed such familiarity, it could only mean the man was someone quite close to him. Closer than he was with the Genei Ryodan members, most likely; but if that was the case, why had he never appeared before?

"He is one of those 'other scholars'?" Kurapika asked, though she knew the answer before she even asked.

"Yes," answered Kuroro. He then turned to address his old friend. "Lucian Virgiliu, the Count of Wallachia. It's been a while."

Kurapika narrowed her eyes. How on Earth could Kuroro Lucifer, of all people, make acquaintance with people of high statuses? Okay, so now it was a Count. Previously the Lady of Ryuusei-gai (which was equal to being a Queen, may be?), and then a Duke. What would be next? An Emperor, perhaps?

"Oh, cut the formalities, pal." The young count waved his hand dismissively. When his eyes landed on Kurapika, a broad grin graced his pale face. "And this will be your female companion?"

"She is." He answered lightly as he took one glass of wine offered to him by a passing waiter.

He deliberately did not offer Kurapika one; he knew she was not up to any wines or alcoholic drinks. He had had enough experience not to risk getting her drunk all over again. Kurapika, at the same time, did not bother with it. If anything, she was glad that the man spared her the tiring formalities.

"And what her role will be?"

"My wife." He said it so deadpan that Kurapika could not help but to choke on nothing in particular. Her saliva, perhaps?

"Hooo…" He whistled casually as he eyed Kurapika with appreciating eyes. It was a gesture that Kurapika hated; it made her feel so self-conscious. "Never thought you'd ever take a woman to be your _soţie _(Romanian for 'wife'). Lucifer the lone wolf, eh?"

Kurapika twitched a bit at the mention of 'the lone wolf'. It just sounded so wrong in her ears; there was a nasty ring to it. Lucian noticed this slight gesture and interpreted it slightly off the track.

"Actually, _fata _(Romanian for 'girl'), I'm supposed to call him Kuroro, correct? But I choose to address him as Lucifer instead. Do you know why?"

Kurapika shook her head slowly, but she sensed something weird coming her way.

"Because that way our names will sound similar. Lucian, Lucifer. The Lu-Lu pair!"

Kurapika's jaws inadvertently dropped for a few centimetres. Was he intending to make a pun with the word 'lulu'?

"Enough with that idiotic joke already, Lucian. That is not funny." Kuroro said dryly.

"Aw, you are no fun."

"Apparently you still have a lot of growing up ahead of you, despite your age."

"Pfft. Don't start telling the world of my real age, will you? You are surprisingly rude." Lucian narrowed his eyes in playful displeasure; no hard feelings whatsoever. "So what are you doing now? I don't see your entourage anywhere around the area."

"That's not for you to know."

"So stingy." He tsk-ed.

"And what about you?"

"Me? The usual stuff. Been travelling around the world looking for something that attracts my attention. Treasure hunting sure is fun." He said while laughing softly.

_If he's a Hunter, he'll be a Treasure Hunter._ Kurapika told herself mentally. _And no wonder he's never around before; he's too busy digging for treasures around the world._

"Oh, and Kurapika?"

Kuroro turned to regard her, and she looked up to look at him in the eyes. It was something that no longer roused awkwardness between them; as if it was as natural as breathing. Previously, it had been so hard for her to look at him in the eyes evenly without feeling angry or cross.

"You stay away from him." He said flatly.

"Huh?" She blinked. That was very unlike him to say such things openly about his close friend—if he deemed Lucian as one.

"That's very mean of you, Lucifer. You speak badly of me right in front of me." He said with feigned hurt. "Don't worry, I won't try to drink your lady's blood."

Kurapika's face turned ashen white and it was so obvious that Kuroro had to chuckle.

"He is a vampire." He informed her.

_Ah, no wonder the colour of his eyes looks dead. Though his cheerful countenance adds life in it,_ Kurapika thought.

"Well, naturally it will be wise for you to stay away from her as well." Kuroro said while sipping his wine with an amused smile plastered on his face. "I'm sure her blood will taste horrible."

Kurapika did not know whether she should feel complimented or insulted. Nevertheless, Lucian's eyebrows quirked with interest.

"And what makes you perceive that?" He asked curiously.

"She shares my blood." He simply said, but apparently it was good enough an explanation for the vampire.

"That explains it." He said sourly. "That's too bad. No, it's really bad; such a great waste."

Seeing that Kurapika looked lost regarding the two men's conversation, Lucian took the liberty of explaining it to her.

"_Draga _(Romaninan for 'dear'), this companion of yours has a blood that tasted like poison to me. Very terrible indeed, because his blood is mixed with a nasty stuff."

"Ishtar's blood." Kuroro muttered to her. "Vampire only feasts on human's and animal's blood. Other creatures, especially dangerous ones like her kinds, are more often than not poisonous to his kind."

"I see." She muttered with the corner of her mouth twitching nervously. She did not know whether she ought to be pleased or distraught by that piece of information.

_You two are barely pure humans, _so did Seiryuu's voice ring in her head once more, and it made her uneasy since it reminded her of her odd blood.

"By the by, do you know what old man Abelard is going to display tonight?" He asked excitedly.

"A pair of Scarlet Eyes," replied Kuroro deadpan.

"As expected of you." He slapped him on the shoulder. "Then again, I'm sure mine exceeds his in rarity and beauty."

"Oh?" Kuroro raised a quizzical eyebrow. "And what is your treasure that 'exceeds a pair of Scarlet Eyes in rarity and beauty'?"

Lucian grinned as broadly as a Cheshire cat did.

"I'll show you. Come with me."

Lucian had just turned on his heels and was about to march to his designated room when Kuroro stopped him.

"Not now, Lucian. For now we have urgent business with the Duke."

If he was any puppy, his eyes would have dropped flat on his head and gave a whinny, disappointed whimper.

"Have you seen him?" asked Kuroro, ignoring Lucian's antics.

"Dunno. Should be in the crowds, entertaining the guests." He answered while pouting.

Kuroro gave him a small, amused smile. He walked past him and patted him lightly on the shoulder twice, as if to reassure him. Kuroro then passed him his half-empty wine glass.

"I'll see you soon."

His voice sounded almost very brotherly and gentle that Kurapika almost tripped in her heels. Kuroro regarded her with a raised eyebrow, which Kurapika only responded with a piercing look to indicate him to 'mind his own business'. Lucian's face lit up and he beamed at Kuroro happily, though the said man was already walking away with Kurapika trailing after him.

"I love you, brother!" He shouted from his spot.

This time, it was Kuroro who almost tripped. A few heads gave him a quizzical look, which he naturally ignored with no effort, but somehow an amused look from Kurapika had much greater impact than those numerous stares.

"'I love you, brother.'" Kurapika mimicked it gleefully.

Kuroro shot her a nasty look, while she ignored it and continued to stifle her laughter. One thing for sure, Kurapika liked Lucian's good sense of humour.

* * *

"Lucifer, my dear young man! How have you been?" The fat, cheery man welcomed them with his plump arms spread in a welcoming embrace as soon as he spotted Kuroro.

"Very good, Duke. How are you doing?"

"Can't be better." He said while laughing merrily. To Kurapika, he was the perfect example of a content old man. "Oh, look at who's this. Your female companion, yes?"

He bowed to her politely and took her hand to kiss the back of it lightly. Kurapika did her best not to twitch when his lips touched her skin.

_He is a famous womaniser_, so Kuroro's words rang in her head—it gave her the chills knowing that such man was actually trying to flirt with her.

"My wife." Kuroro corrected.

"Ah…" The Duke hurriedly released Kurapika's hand and he shot her a slightly apologetic smile as he cleared his throat. "I see."

"How do you do, honoured Duke of Cenabum?" Kurapika bowed a curtsy, trying to be polite. She did notice the old man's slight change of attitude at the mention of 'my wife' by Kuroro, though.

"Ohoho, quite the charming young lady, isn't she?" The Duke laughed. "How young are you, _mademoiselle _(French for 'my little lady')?"

Kurapika went frigid and turned to give Kuroro a questioning gesture. Should she say the truth of her real age? Kuroro only gave her a blank face, not helping her at all. Kurapika fought not to scowl at him, for it was unbecoming of a wife to scowl at her husband.

"Em… Seventeen?" She confessed as the corner of her mouth twitched nervously.

"Seventeen?" The Duke exclaimed, but by the grace of the God he did not shout it out loud.

"Lucifer! She is too young to be your _épouse _(French for 'consort')!" protested the Duke, flustered by Kuroro's seemingly outrageous decision to take someone so young to be his wife.

Kurapika blushed furiously, at loss on what to say or do. Kuroro merely smiled charmingly at his previous employer.

"Why not? She is of legal age."

"But—"

"Duke, no matter how much you protested against it, it won't change a thing. She is already my wife, and that's that." There was finality in his voice, indicating that he would receive no more arguing about the matter.

"Well, I guess you are right…" The Duke sighed. He then decided to change the topic of their chat. "So, Lucifer, what kind of treasure do you have with you?"

"Hmmm…" Kuroro put up a thinking gesture. "What about my wife here? She's quite the rare treasure, isn't she?"

Kuroro was only partially joking here. Truthfully, Kurapika was really a treasure; the last one living Kuruta. Of course he was not going to divulge that to the Duke, but still he really thought of her as a treasure of some kind.

The Duke, not knowing that, laughed heartily. Kurapika, on the other hand, felt like puking.

"I have never known you to be such a romantic person." He commented.

"I heard that people change after they enter marriage." Kuroro said humbly.

Oh, she really wanted to puke now.

"My, my. Your wife really has a great impact on you, I see."

Now the Duke eyed her with a renewed sense of respect and appreciation. Kurapika shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny. She never liked being observed so closely and intensely. At the same time, she felt like slapping his smooth-talker of a 'husband'.

"Well, Duke." Kuroro approached him and spoke with lower voice to him as he decided to come down to the business. "This treasure of mine is something very rare, and so it comes across my mind to trade it with you."

"_Trade_ it? Now, now, that is something worth noticing, considering it coming from you." The old Duke raised one thick, bushy eyebrow and motioned at them to follow him into his suite.

He told them to wait in his private living room while he personally fetched his Scarlet Eyes. They both took a seat in the sofa. Kurapika scanned the whole room with wonderment; it was so lavishly decorated, not to mention the many other valuable goods the room held.

"I'm surprised you never try to rob him." She commented in soft voice.

"I respect him, and that is why I am not going to steal anything from him, especially in this occasion. Doing so will soil his good name, and I have no wish for that to happen." Kuroro simply said.

"Blessed are those whom you respect," said Kurapika mockingly, "for they are spared from the possibility of getting robbed silly by the Genei Ryodan."

Kuroro merely shrugged, unaffected by her sneer. Soon enough, the Duke re-entered the room with a fine box cradled in his chubby arms. He placed it as carefully as possible on the mahogany table before the couple. He opened the box dramatically, and finally revealed the Scarlet Eyes.

Kuroro was not impressed at the slightest; he had had his share of staring into those floating eyes, but Kurapika evidently was never tired of getting excited when she saw those priced Eyes. She straightened up and leaned forwards to get a closer look at those Eyes. It was the real thing, alright.

"So? What do you think? What can you offer to trade with these Eyes?" asked the Duke as he leaned back in his grand chair.

With an enigmatic smile, Kuroro shifted and fished out something out of his pocket. He laid the object that he claimed as 'his most treasured possession'—which was actually not—carefully on the table. He cared not for it, all truth to be told. Abelard Constantin simply had to gape in wonderment as he beheld Kuroro's term of bargain.

"Ho—how did you get to own it?" exclaimed the Duke, still unable to swallow the truth that he was looking at the fabled Phoenix Feather.

Kuroro smiled triumphantly. Judging from the Duke's expression, he knew that he was winning the bargain.

"It does not matter how I procured this item. I am only interested in whether you are willing to trade your Scarlet Eyes with this piece of feather or not." He said lazily.

"Allow me to inspect it first," begged the Duke.

Kuroro made a 'help yourself' gesture with one hand, and the Duke eagerly examined the Feather as if it was a very fragile crystal that might crumble when handled too vulgarly.

"It is the real thing." The Duke whispered in amazement and delight.

"Of course it is. Do you doubt my credibility?" said Kuroro, rather too haughtily in Kurapika's opinion.

"No, no, of course not."

"So?"

"The Eyes are yours." The Duke decided in less than a heartbeat, his hungry eyes never leaving the Feather in his hand.

"Good. I will have Lucian fetch it for me." Kuroro said as he rose from his seat, followed by Kurapika; who had been the silent observer all the while.

With all formalities done, Kuroro and Kurapika took their leave and sauntered towards the grand hall where the other guests were indulging themselves with harmless chats and drinks. The two of them had figured out the role of the Phoneix Feather once Kuroro received the message from Abelard Constantin. It was a realisation that they needed not confirm with each other; as such, Kurapika was not surprised when Kuroro offered the Feather as his mean of bargain.

Thus, there was nothing left for them to discuss. Everything went on smoothly as planned. Well, except maybe for Lucian.

* * *

"The hell? What am I? You errand boy?" Lucian protested as soon as Kuroro told him of his promise to the Duke that Lucian would fetch the Eyes for him.

"Do this as a tiny favour for me, Lucian. After all, you owed me one." Kuroro said with mischievous smile.

"Okay, okay! I'll do it, just don't start reminding me of 'that favour'!" Lucian made a surrendering gesture, and he started to mumbled complaints to himself.

He led them to his designated room, where he promised to show them his priced treasure that 'exceeds the Scarlet Eyes in rarity and beauty'. When they reached the room, Kuroro looked around and noticed something missing.

"I thought you are supposed to bring a female companion as well?"

"Oh, I did." Lucian grinned.

He whistled and in a flash a black cat had appeared as if from thin air. She purred lovingly as she rubbed her elastic furry body against Lucian's boots. Lucian picked the cat and began stroking it lovingly.

"There she is. Her name is Stella, because she has a star-shaped white fur on her forehead."

"A cat?" Kurapika voiced her confusion out loud.

"Why, _draga_, the invitation did not specify me to bring a human female companion." He grinned cheekily at her, reminding her of Killua in some way. Perhaps when Killua was all grown up, he would somewhat resemble Lucian.

"You and your weirdest interpretation of things." Kuroro said in amusement.

"It makes things more interesting, you stuck-up guy." Lucian stuck his tongue at Kuroro before releasing the cat from his arm. The cat then sauntered into the inner room, disappearing behind the slightly open door.

"Anyway, my 'treasure'…" He said absentmindedly as he walked towards his bedroom after Stella. "You know, Lucifer. When I saw that _soţie_ of yours, frankly speaking I was shocked because…"

"Lucian." Kuroro suddenly said sharply. "I think I know what your 'treasure' is."

"Oh." Lucian blinked as he stopped in his track halfway to his bedroom. He then caught a glimpse of a rather agitated Kurapika. "Well, if you think so…"

"I want to see it." Kurapika said suddenly. "I wish to see it." She repeated with emphasis.

"_Fata_, darling, I don't think it will be a pretty sight to you…"

"Reason being?"

"Well…"

"Show me, please."

Lucian looked at Kuroro, who then nodded in defeat. Hesitantly, Lucian took out a box from his bedroom that contained his treasure; a box that was big enough to fit a human head. He slowly opened it and, true enough, a container with a floating head inside was revealed—a head that Kurapika was so familiar about.

Her oceanic eyes instantly burned scarlet.

"Aniki—"

And then she passed out, not because of the shock but because Kuroro had hit her nape with just sufficient strength to knock her out. Lucian looked rather startled with the entire scene.

"She is a living Kuruta?"

"The last one." Kuroro said curtly as he carried Kurapika's unconscious body bridal style.

"I thought you were the one…Then how come she…" Lucian looked befuddled as if he had seen the most peculiar thing in his life.

"It's a long story, and complicated."

"I like long story. Tell me, Lucifer."

"Another time, Lucian. There are more pressing matters right now. What compensation will make you agree to part with that Scarlet Eyes of yours?"

"What can you offer?" asked the vampire as he folded his arms across his chest.

"A favour from me. Is that acceptable?"

"Hmmm…" Lucian turned slowly to eye Kurapika with a strange light in his odd eyes.

"She is off limits, Lucian."

Although Kuroro's voice was calm and collected, Lucian knew that the man was dead serious. He then made a surrendering gesture—it was best not to mess around with Kuroro Lucifer's possessions.

"I guess that's a fair enough bargain. A favour from you, the leader of the notorious Genei Ryodan, is almost equal to a favour from the whole group. It may come in handy." He shrugged casually.

"Good. I will send my man to fetch the Eyes later."

"The Head, you mean." Lucian grinned sinisterly. "Oh, and send Paku, will you? She's just one of the sanest one among your Spiders."

"She's long gone." Kuroro said flatly, his voice devoid of any emotions.

Lucian gaped, his mouth forming a big O.

"She killed her." He gestured at the unconscious Kurapika in his arms with a nod of his head.

"Oh. I see." Lucian said awkwardly. Now a new big question popped in his head; how the hell could he travel with the killer of his Spider? Then again, the same could go to Kurapika: how the hell could she travel with the killer of her entire tribe?

"I'll send you Machi."

Before Lucian could protest or do anything against his hasty decision, Kuroro went off.

* * *

"Oh. My. God." Lucian scratched the back of his head, unsure on what to do regarding the current situation.

Right before him was the suite that had been designated for both Kuroro and Kurapika, but it was empty AND half destroyed. To be exact, nothing was left of the door to the balcony, plus some cracks on the walls. Lucian could only shake his head in wonderment.

"What a violent couple." He sighed and went to inform Abelard Constantin of the fabricated cause behind the mini quake and the loud noises from earlier. Of course it was one that he made up, since he had not the slightest idea on what had actually happened.

The real incident happened to originate from Kurapika's explosive response when she woke up.

The first thing she remembered when she opened her eyes had been her brother's staring eyes that burned bright scarlet—a shade which was only second in quality to Kurapika's, as Kuroro secretly dubbed. They seemed to speak of lustful urge of revenge to her, and it revived her dormant thirst of vendetta.

Before she knew it, she had turned berserk—she madly and blindly attacked Kuroro, disregarding the fact that she was wearing a tube dress and that they were in another person's suite. After she had wonderfully destroyed the door to the balcony, Kuroro lured her out of the place in order to avoid unnecessary attention from the guests.

Thus, their battle had taken place in a forest not far from Duke Abelard Constantin's residence.

It was a tiring battle, as Kuroro had to admit. From the information that his Spiders had given him; one that Pakunoda had bequeathed to her comrades before she fell victim to the Judgement Chain, he knew that she was able to conceal her Nen Chains with In. As such, for safety precaution he had to constantly deploy En during his fight—and it was no easy job.

Kurapika's attacks were relentless and fierce. She did not falter or stop, not giving him a chance for respite at all. She kept attacking like a mad bull, not intending to stop until she had torn his life and soul from his body. Her determination was unnerving for him. Her Reinforcement strength baffled him—she was able to crush a fat tree trunk with her bare hands. It reminded him of Uvogin, but what made him admire her more was her resilient and endurance in maintaining the Emperor Time ability—it ought to require tremendous amount of Nen to maintain all Nen types at the same time for long period of time, not to mention the rigorous usage.

Her Chain Jail danced its deadly yet graceful dance around him, trying to bite him to death with its hook. It was nothing hard to dodge them, but he was only wary of the tricks that she had up her sleeves—she was one cunning fighter, alright.

While Kurapika relied solely on her Chain Jail, Kuroro had to resort to his Benz knife—the one with poison that was strong enough to paralyse a whale. He only needed to give her a shallow cut and the battle would be over. The problem was that she was doing a terrific job in avoiding his attacks.

At one time, Kuroro chanced upon a perfect opportunity to immobilise the girl—it was when behind her was a fat, large, old tree with strong and broad trunk. With idle flicks of his wrist, Kuroro threw his ice-breaker-sized pins at her and apparently Lady Luck was on his side.

Kuroro's pins pierced right through the flesh of her palms, and she was literally nailed to the trunk of the tree behind her. Kuroro was sure that he had nailed her to the tree, since the amount of strength that he put in throwing those pins were enough for them to sink deeply into the flesh of the tree. Her position at that moment was alike that of a crucified one.

Much to his surprise, and horror perhaps, Kurapika's rebellion had no bounds. With a groan and cry that was alike of a wounded animal, Kurapika tried to wrench herself free from the pins. She pulled forward her body, ignoring the fact that her palms were bleeding and the flesh were tearing from the bone.

"Kurapika, stop!" He cried out at her, but she would not stop. He had never thought that the girl would go as far as tearing her own flesh in order to get to him. How far did her boiling hatred towards him extend?

After a while, with a final cry, Kurapika wrenched her palms free from the pins. The pins remained in their position, stuck to the tree trunk. They were covered in her blood, and the open wounds on her palms were bleeding profusely, like a tap water. If left untreated, she might die from blood loss. Kurapika stumbled to the ground, but when she supported her body from the fall with her ruined hands, she did not even flinch from the pain. Like a demon possessed, Kurapika ignored the gruesome wounds and instead charged at Kuroro heads-on.

Again Kuroro had to maintain distance from the crazed girl while deploying En all the while. It was draining his Nen, and he knew that he could not keep up with it forever. He had to stop Kurapika without actually killing her—it was the hardest thing he had ever attempted in his life. That was because he stubbornly clung to his resolute not to let the girl die.

"Kurapika, get a hold of yourself!"

His voice never reached the sensible part of Kurapika's mind, for it had been blocked by her tumultuous mind. After a few more minutes of the same game, Kuroro really grew tired of it; not to mention that the disturbing amount of blood she was shedding was making him frown deeply.

Finally, Kuroro decided that enough was enough. He teleported himself right in front of her—shocking the life out of her. In the milliseconds that seemed to stretch indefinitely, Kuroro grabbed her shoulders and drove his knee to her solar plexus. As Kurapika doubled up, Kuroro delivered the finishing blow—a cut on her upper arm. The cut was slightly deep and so more blood gushed out, but Kuroro was sure that the poison had successfully invaded her system. Another problem arose: she persisted.

As she dropped to the ground unceremoniously, it dawned to her that it was her absolute defeat. Kuroro squatted by her side, observing her with wonderment—she was the first 'normal' person—Silva Zaoldyck was definitely beyond normal—to ever withstand his poisonous Benz knife. With a jerk, she clutched his shirt with her bloody hands. With trembling hands she hauled her self up, and Kuroro held her in his arm gingerly.

She glared at him fiercely, but it soon turned tearful. Tears flooded her pale cheeks like there was no tomorrow. The delicate droplets of salty substance reflected the scarlet colour of her fiery Scarlet Eyes, playing tricks on Kuroro's Eyes. He fleetingly thought she was crying blood, but he quickly amended such foolish thought.

_Scarlet Tears…_he mused.

Sobs started to escape her throat, and she then buried her face in his shirt. It was a gesture so out of place for someone who had failed to defeat her nemesis yet again.

She soon started wailing and crying like a baby, pouring her sadness out. How vexed she was as she realised that she could not beat Kuroro Lucifer no matter what. He was still beyond her league. She had not the slightest chance of beating him, and she knew that. She might be able to defeat other Spiders, like Uvogin, but not Kuroro Lucifer. He was just too good. Even as she had put her life at stakes for the sake of attaining power, he was still too good.

"Curse you! Curse you…!" She muttered amidst her wails. Rather than curses, it sounded more like pleas to Kuroro.

Before long, the poison took its toll on her body and she finally succumbed to oblivion. As she went limp in her arms, he held on to her; hugging her frail frame closely as if she could just disintegrate the moment he let go of her. He could feel his shirt soaked wet by her blood and tears. The amount of blood that she had lost disturbed him. His heartbeat became erratic, and a small voice spoke from the back of his minds:

_She is dying…_

He did not know whether the voice came from the bond formed due to their shared blood or due to cry of his Nen that resided within him. The only thing he knew for sure was that the voice was correct. She was indeed dying. For the first time in his life, Kuroro was plunged into pure panic. He did not know of what to do.

"My, my, what a violent spousal quarrel you have here. Geez, I've never seen one as bloody as this." A voice said from nearby bush.

Lucian stood there with one arm supporting his weight against a tree. He stood and spoke so idly and calmly as if that much blood had no effect on him although he was a vampire.

"And you are right, Lucifer. Her blood smells faintly of your blood. It reeks of poison." He wrinkled his nose. "I wouldn't want to drink it."

"Are you here just to say that?" He asked impatiently.

"Nope. I'm here to help, _prietenul meu_. (Romanian for 'my friend')" He straightened up and flashed a toothy grin at him. "Come with me and bring your _draga_ along."

Having no other better options, Kuroro gathered Kurapika's limp body in his arms and proceeded to follow Lucian wherever he went to.

* * *

"Use this suite as you see fit. Just don't destroy it like you did Abelard's." He said lightly, trying to ease Kuroro's tension. Well, at least he intended to although it did little.

He brought them to his private mansion and granted them a suite for them to use to their heart's content. Saving the 'thank you' formalities for later, Kuroro rushed her to a bedroom and deposited her into the bed before starting on the task of stopping her profuse bleeding by bandaging the gaping holes on her palms. In no time, the white bed sheet was dyed dark crimson with her fresh blood.

Lucian cringed at the sharp metallic, poisonous smell of her odd blood. It smelled foul for him. He went away, and returned very shortly with a pack of drugs in his hand. The drugs were pills with dark maroon colour, and it had the shape of a red blood cell.

"Give her this. This should stop her bleeding instantly," said he as he handed Kuroro one pill.

So Kuroro fed her the pill, and wonder of wonders it did work instantaneously as soon as the pill was digested and the content was absorbed by her system.

"And this is?"

"Drug to stop bleeding, obviously. I made it myself. Travelling vampires like me will need such handy drugs, no? After all, blood loss is our greatest enemy."

"Oh," was his mere response, though he was actually interested in Lucian's little invention.

"I can give you some if you want them." Lucian offered generously.

"Thank you."

"Anytime, _frater_. (Romanian for 'brother')" Lucian shrugged. "Then, I'll leave you with _fata._"

* * *

Kurapika felt like she was floating in dark water. Everything was dark, and she was tired. She felt like succumbing into the infinite darkness, merging with it and to forget everything else that burdened her mind and soul. She was tired, and wanted to rest and forget. Kurapika closed her eyes solemnly and let her body fall into the mercy of the darkness surrounding her.

_You are tired._

An excruciatingly familiar voice from distant past roused her awake. When she opened her eyes, a face was already looming over her.

"Aniki." Her voice was the bare whisper of a ghost.

_Kairi, you have slaved yourself so hard. Give it a rest._ The ghost said while caressing Kurapika's hair with his translucent hand. Her brother was intact; his head was there, along with his eyes—those beautifully tranquil eyes.

"But Aniki…If I haven't avenged you and the tribe…"

_Nobody asks you to avenge us,_ the shadowy figure said, his voice was but a hollow dry wind of dead winter.

"But—"

_Kairi, find your own reason of living. Your raison d'être,_ the ghost of her deceased brother beseeched her, his otherworldly eyes glowed eerily yet sadly in the pitch darkness.

_Your suffering grieves us more than anything else. You are our last hope for survival, the last of our kin. Live, Kairi. Live happily. That is the only thing you can at least do for us. We don't want revenge,_ the figure shook his head slowly.

"Live happily?" The girl repeated after the ghost of her dead brother. "I have forgotten…how it is to live happily."

_Truly?_ For once, the shadowy voice was not as sorrowful but was hopeful. _Look closely, Kairi. There is happiness around you in abundance._

With that, the faint shadow started to fade away. In alarm, Kurapika reached the grab the ghost of her brother but her hand only clutched empty air and darkness. Pin-drop silence filled her entire being, and she was once again left alone. She stared into the thick darkness.

_Happiness in abundance? Where? _She pondered despairingly.

Images flashed before her eyes: Gon, Killua, Leorio, Senritsu, Bashou.

Kuroro Lucifer.

* * *

When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by unfamiliar ceilings and found herself lying on unfamiliar bed. She felt giddy and disoriented, but nevertheless she felt the boring stare directed to her. She turned to look at the owner of the stare, who was none other than Kuroro.

He was studying her visage, and she his. There were faint dark rings underneath his dark eyes, the tell-tale that he had not been sleeping—or resting—properly. He was still wearing the same shirt that he had been wearing to the Duke's party, which had already ended just the day before. His face was paler than usual, almost sickly pale. Kurapika's face was equally pale, with no colour at all. Her face was just like a blank sheet of paper; white and flat with no shade or depth.

She finally turned her attention back to the ceiling above her, while Kuroro's gaze never left her.

"Have I ever been happy?" She asked to nobody in particular, her voice a faint whisper.

Kuroro observed her intently, trying to decipher the faraway look on her face. Her whole body language was languid and lethargic, with no hints of her going into a frenzied murderous spree again.

"I have never seen you laugh." Kuroro admitted—he only knew of one time when Kurapika laughed. It was a soft laugh she gave when she was drunk in one of their Scarlet Eyes mission—even that had been an account from Shalnark and Phinks. He quietly added, "I rarely see you smile, except when you are with those friends of yours."

Kurapika remained motionless in her bed, her oceanic blue eyes staring at the empty ceiling above her absentmindedly.

"Do you want to see them?" He asked softly.

Of course she did, but she did not want them to see her in such condition. They would pester her about it, and more problems would surely arise especially between them and Kuroro. She had had enough of troubles and problems like those. Still, she missed them badly… Especially Senritsu; the motherly Senritsu.

And now she felt like crying. Just great.

Seeing the glittery tell-tale sign of impending tears, Kuroro rose from his seat and sat on her bedside. If possible, he would not want to see her tears. It was…heartbreaking. He then curled his hand around hers, completely enveloping that small hand in his large one. She twitched when his hand touched hers, but relaxed when he silently gave her one comforting squeeze on the bandaged hand—careful not to hurt the wounds.

This one little gesture released the constricting force swelling in her chest. She inhaled deeply and let out the pressure in her chest to go away slowly yet steadily. Kurapika closed her eyes and held Kuroro's hand; returning his good-natured gesture.

"Thanks."

* * *

"You know, Lucifer. Abelard didn't specify that you should bring any wives. He just told you to bring a female companion. Why insisting that she is your wife?"

Kurapika was already safely asleep yet again, and Lucian helped himself to have a little chat with his friend. He offered him a cool drink, and Kuroro gladly accepted it.

"A safety precaution. Despite being a womaniser, Abelard still knows his manner. He won't try to flirt with someone else's wives."

"Simply said, you don't want your Kurapika to attract the old man's attention; which is highly likely to happen if he is to learn of her single status."

Kuroro nodded.

"What devotion you have towards her. I am astounded." For once, Lucian sounded very serious as he emphasised his words.

"She will forget this, sooner or later." Kuroro simply stated.

"What makes you think so?"

"Because I know her," said he confidently.

_She would dismiss it as a 'moment of insanity' due to her fatigue and disorientation, and she would resume her normal self, _so he mused to himself as he stared absentmindedly into his less than half-empty glass, the ice cubes clinking delicately.

"That's so pessimistic of you, which is unusual." Lucian raised an eyebrow.

Kuroro closed his eyes and sighed inwardly.

"It's called being realistic."

Lucian was very unhappy with Kuroro's response, but he had no chance to retaliate as Kuroro's cell-phone rang. The said man opened and read a message he had just received, and could not help but to stare dumbly at the message.

"What now?" Lucian asked warily upon seeing that weird look on his stoic friend's face.

Without answering him, Kuroro only passed him the phone, telling him to read it on his own. When Lucian was finished reading, he gaped ungracefully. The message was short:

_**Sender: Isthar**_

_RETURN QUICKLY. I have discovered the means to dissolve the bind._

_

* * *

_

_**Author's Note**__: Aaaand, Kurapika's brother's Scarlet Eyes (plus head) finally made their appearance. Forgive me if there is any misuse of those Romanian and French words. I have never studied those languages before, only taking the words out of dictionaries. Cenabum is the old name of Orleans, a province in France. It dated back to the period of Julius Caesar. Wallachia is the old name of a province in Romania, where Count Dracula is said to reside. Count Dracula is dubbed as Count of Wallachia himself. So let's just say that Lucian is one of his successors =P_

_**Next:**__ Kuroro was opening up about his feelings for Kurapika with Lucian's pestering questions. The question was: would Kurapika really forget the fleeting tenderness between them? Was Kuroro right after all? Also, why had Kuroro Lucifer's image flashed when Kurapika was remembering the happiness around her? Ishtar finally found the way to dissolve the curse! How would things go onwards now?_


	24. Chapter 24: Lacrimosa

_**Disclaimer:**__ I still do not own Hunter x Hunter (this is really getting old)_

_**Story so far:**__Kuroro was informed by Isthar that the means to break the bind was finally discovered! What would it be? By her decree, they had to return to Ryuusei-gai at once. But first and foremost, how was the relationship between Kuroro and Kurapika? Did Kurapika really forsake the fleeting memory of tenderness between them two?_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 24**

_**LACRIMOSA**_

_**

* * *

**_

"I'm sorry." Kurapika whispered quietly to him.

Kuroro, who was walking ahead of her, turned his head and looked at her with knowing eyes.

"What for?" He asked, his voice soft.

"For everything I did back then…" she muttered with her eyes downcast, and added in a wraith-like voice, "and thank you."

Apparently Kurapika Kuruta remembered every single detail of that event. Kuroro tried to put his usual stoic mask intact although inwardly he felt warm and content with her words.

"Why didn't you heal those wounds?"

Kurapika had decided not to use her Holy Chain to eradicate the scar on her hands. Kurapika did not answer him, though he knew the reason behind it. It served as a reminder of how foolish she had been—and most importantly, how powerless she was before him. Kuroro had no idea whether it was a healthy thing to do or not, but he was dead sure that the girl would not change her mind regardless what he said. Thus, he remained silent of it.

Lucian spared them the grace by not asking of that issue as well. Instead, he took it upon himself to fix the new awkwardness between the two of them. Lucian insisted that he followed them in their journey back to Ryuusei-gai; he wanted to visit Ishtar after so long. None of them made any objections against it—except one: how would he travel during daylight? He was a vampire, after all.

"That is not something you should concern yourself with. That's been solved many years ago: behold," said the vampire proudly as he showed them a bottle that contained something akin to lotion. "Special Sun-block Lotion for Vampires! Made by me, of course."

Lucian then demonstrated the credibility of his invention during a scorching daylight as the lotion worked wonders since it allowed him to travel just like any normal humans—and so the vampire tagged along.

As it turned out, travelling with Lucian Virgilliu in tow expectedly added more spices in their journey. Not a single day was boring, though most of the time he would annoy the hell out of the poor Kuruta girl—Kuroro was not so annoyed because he was accustomed to the vampire's antics. One of such many occasions was as followed:

"I will never be tempted by your blood, _fata _(girl)," said the vampire one day as they sauntered under the canopy of a forest, as Kuroro and Kurapika always did. With Una tagging along, they could no longer take the 'civilised' street.

"So relax a bit, will you? It smells foul to me. But…" He turned to Kuroro. "I certainly can enjoy her physically, right?"

Kurapika's jaw dropped.

"…Suits yourself." Kuroro shrugged uncaringly.

The words had scarcely escaped Kuroro's mouth when Lucian was already physically abused by Kurapika—she kicked his shin.

"But perhaps I should have warned you that although she isn't necessarily the strongest woman I have ever encountered, she definitely has the most ferocious temper," he said thoughtfully.

"Geez, thanks for the warning, dude." Lucian said sarcastically as he rubbed his sore shin. "Say, is she also that fierce in bed?"

"LUCIAN!" Kurapika yelled, her face maroon, and began whacking Lucian senseless.

Kuroro rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"You are asking impossible things. How am I supposed to know when I've never lain with her? Though she did claim that I have sexually harassed her many times…"

"How did it go? Is she delectable?" His voice was too excited.

"Definitely too skinny," said Kuroro deadpan.

"YOU UNCOUTH MEN!"

And so Kurapika began strangling Lucian to his death, though the vampire was already a living dead anyway. The beauty of having an undead travelling companion: one could kill him so many times over without having to really kill him.

In conclusion, Lucian was always the receiving end of Kurapika's abuse. It was a relief to Kuroro, though. Una, on the other hand, kept her distance safely from Lucian since he was an impure being.

* * *

By the time they reached the Ryuusei-gai, dusk was already falling. Una had to stay behind in the forest where Rusalka was residing—the siren would keep her company—since she would not be able to take a step into the city considering her being a Unicorn. Kuroro decided to spend the night in his living quarter first before they went to see Ishtar the next day. Lucian good-naturedly offered to visit Ishtar first, at least to inform her of their arrival in the city. Kurapika gratefully accepted the decision, although she did not speak it out loud. When they got into his living quarter, however, Kurapika could not immediately get the rest she badly needed.

"Yo, Danchou! We've been waiting!" said Phinks with his excited tone.

The Spiders were already assembled there, all of them. However, what disturbed Kurapika were not—for once—the Spiders but the unbelievably thick layers of dusts covering the whole place. Even the air inside the building was heavy with the stale stench of must and dust. It was suffocating for Kurapika, very much so.

"I don't remember telling you all to gather here," said Kuroro with mild surprise in his voice.

He threw a quick glance at Shalnark, who by then—true to Kuroro's suspicions—was hanging his head low in dejection. Nobunaga had his arm around his shoulder, looking like he was intimidating the younger Spider. Poor Shalnark had been threatened to spill the beans, it seemed. Kuroro sighed at his Spiders' childish, whimsical act. With them around Kurapika, only Gods knew how and when all hell would break loose.

Kuroro glanced at Kurapika, and was not surprised to see her bristling in what he perceived as suppressed anger. He was not going to wait until she blew her fuse, and was about to shepherd her into his personal quarter when Kurapika let out a strained, fierce whisper.

"This is ridiculous."

Kuroro blinked once.

"This place is ridiculously filthy! What is this, a pigsty?" She bellowed.

Her sudden outburst made some of the mellower Spiders jumped from their skin, while others twitched involuntarily.

"I _don't care_ if you lots want to sit around and sleep on top of those filthy layers of dusts and mites, but there is NO WAY I am going to do that. So, Kuroro Lucifer, you are going to help me clean around the place, or at the very least your sleeping quarter, no matter what. If I am to drag you around by force, then _so be it_!"

Kuroro was practically, technically, and literally speechless by her torrent of demands and harsh words. While he was still gaping, and so were the Spiders, Kurapika marched on while dragging him along by means of the bind between them; true to her words.

And so the Kuruta girl in rampaging cleaning mode opened the window in the upper floor—which generously belonged to Kuroro—to air the place, grabbed the abandoned and webs-covered brooms, mops, and pails—which Kuroro thought they had never existed before—filled them with water, and started cleaning the upper floor.

"Get to work!" She barked at him while tossing him a wet mop.

Having little or no choice in the matter, he complied with her wish and rolled up his sleeves in preparation for the impending labour work. Their little noisy activities grabbed the attention of the Spiders, who still stubbornly refused to do any cleaning. After a while, Kalluto finally gave in.

"I'm going to clean the place, too…" He said softly as he started to search for any cleaning tools.

"Why? It's cosy enough this way." Phinks said as he tapped the floor next to him and thus causing a fog of dusts to rise up, sending a number of them into coughing fit.

"No, it's simply too dirty." Kalluto shook his head, still looking for any brooms or mops.

"…You're right. It's been years since the last time this place was used." Machi finally got up with a sigh and joined Kalluto in his hunt for any cleaning tools.

The others glanced at each other, before sighing in unison and hauled their body off the impossibly filthy floor.

* * *

After an hour or so—the dusts were so thick and old that they virtually stuck and merged with the interiors of the room, making them hard to scrub away—Kurapika slumped to the floor in exhaustion. Kuroro looked around his now clean room. He was not someone who completely disregarded hygiene like Phinks, but never before in his life that his room was ever _that_ clean—they were literally sparkling clean. He wondered why Kurapika could have such drive in cleaning such spacious place in such a relatively short time. Girl power, maybe?

"Ugh, I'm filthy, smelly, and sticky with sweats!" She complained miserably while she scratched her itchy arm.

"Then get a shower." He recommended while sauntering towards the bathroom.

Kurapika's eyes lit up as soon as he mentioned 'shower'. Kuroro reached the bathroom and pushed a few buttons in the water heater tank to make it operate. The machine started to give a low hum.

"I'm going first!" Kurapika exclaimed while walking past Kuroro hastily; in her arms was a bundle of her fresh clothes.

"…Suit yourself." He shrugged.

* * *

_What takes her so long? _Kuroro pondered as he waited outside, sitting on the floor next to the bathroom door. It had been almost more than an hour since Kurapika entered the bathroom. He called out to her, but there was no answer.

"Kurapika, I'm coming in." He announced, but still there was no reply. It was utterly strange. For someone who valued decency, Kurapika would have screamed at him to stay out of the bathroom.

Gingerly, he unlocked the bathroom door. It was locked from inside, but he was Kuroro Lucifer and it was his own living quarter; of course he knew every nooks and crannies of the place, especially the locks. He peeked inside, and there were no screams of indignation. He stepped inside, soaked in the steam of the hot water almost immediately. His eyes quickly found what he was looking for.

As he had expected, Kurapika had fallen asleep while soaking her body in the bath tub. Her body below the neck was immersed in the hot water, while her head leaned against the smooth porcelain tub. She seemed totally oblivious of the man standing before the bath tub, who was quite in a big predicament.

The steam hovered above the water surface, but it did little to conceal her completely naked body underneath. Kuroro had to look away from the indecency in front of him, before uncouth thoughts started to come. He sighed.

_What to do now? _He wondered.

* * *

"We are all in ages where normally we should have a girlfriend or two." Phinks muttered absentmindedly.

After a gruelling two hours of spring cleaning, they were done with the drudgery and had been joyful to throw aside the cleaning tools. They had habitually picked their own favourite spots in the room and settled themselves comfortably.

"Craving for a girlfriend, Phinks?" Feitan sneered.

"Hey, it's a normal man's needs, you know." He protested, although he did not seem offended by the little man's crude remark.

"Speaking of that…" Shalnark piped in. "I wonder if Danchou has any girlfriend?"

All eyes fell on him, as if he had grown another one or two heads. Shalnark twitched in his spot, scratching the back of his head.

"Well…You know that Danchou has always disappeared when we are done with a mission, and none of us know where he goes and what he does."

"Come to think of it, none of us know of Danchou's personal life." Franklin said with his usual ocean calm voice.

Most of them nodded in agreement. Kuroro Lucifer had always disappeared without telling them anything about his destinations or plans after a mission. He just left, and that was all. None of them had really cared about this, though. They all had their own methods and ways of living; some preferred companionship, others preferred solitude, and it was an unspoken rule in the group that they were to mind their own business outside the mission period.

Soft footsteps could be heard descending from the upper floor. Machi walked down the old staircase with hesitant glances thrown over her tiny shoulders.

"What's wrong, Machi?" Shalnark asked, upon seeing her slightly troubled visage.

"Well, I went up to ask Danchou something, and…" Her voice trailed away.

"And?" Nobunaga rose up and already had his grips on the hilt of his katana, his face predatory. Machi measured him with her calculating eyes; considering whether she should tell the hot-headed samurai or not.

"They seem to be in the bathroom."

"W—wait. You mean…" Phinks' eyes bulged out in surprise. "Both of them?"

She nodded.

They rushed to the upper floor.

* * *

She was awakened by the characteristic sound of water running from bathroom shower. She stirred a bit, still drowsy from her little nap. In a flash, strings of words came into her mind like a telegram message.

_Bath. Naked. Fall asleep. Kuroro's place. Someone else bathing. _

Almost too hastily, she sat up, disturbing the water and creating noises as the water splashed about. Despite the heat, her face turned pallid and her veins felt cold as if her blood had all frozen.

"Awake now?" A painfully familiar voice came from behind the shower curtain that was separating the bathtub from the main shower.

Kurapika gave no reply, but her face openly showed all terror that welled up from her heart.

"I don't think it's wise for you to come out now." Kuroro continued lightly.

The words had barely reached her ears when quite a ruckus could be heard from outside of the bathroom.

"DANCHOU! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" came Nobunaga's yell.

"Sorry to interrupt, Danchou. We'll drag him away," came Phinks' voice with a hint of mischief in it.

"Nobu, don't barge in! You can't do this!" Shalnark's panicked voice rang.

"You'll spoil their moment together," came Kalluto's witty remark coupled with excited giggles.

Kurapika could feel the heat making its way to her again and boiling her whole body and brains; out of anger and utter embarrassment. Kuroro only sighed tiredly.

"We are not doing anything, so keep quiet." He said to them, his voice could be clearly heard despite Nobunaga's roars.

After what seemed to be a struggle outside the bathroom, it was finally peaceful again. Franklin had actually come to the rescue and locked Nobunaga's movement while the others gagged his mouth. Machi took the liberty of tying him tightly with her Nen strings in great annoyance because of the noises he made.

"They are getting the wrong idea." Kuroro said with a soft chuckle.

"It's your fault." She said fiercely, but it sounded more like a wail than a statement of anger.

"Who is the one who falls asleep while taking a bath?" He asked, knowing that no matter what he would win this small debate.

"You could have woken me up!" She said heatedly.

"And have you after my neck with claims that I have been trying to sexually harass you again? No, thanks."

Kurapika had opened her mouth to protest, but upon realising that she had no arguments she could use against him, she wisely zipped her mouth to save her face. Instead, she hugged her knees closely to her bare chest and sulked.

Kuroro, despite the curtain that concealed her from his view, knew that she was sulking in her defeat and thus he let a small smile tugging his lips.

"I'm finished. You can have the bathroom all for yourself again."

She heard the splashing of water, footsteps crossing the wet flood, sound of the door being opened and the clicking sound of the door being closed. Gingerly, Kurapika peeked from behind the curtain, and upon seeing that the main shower was vacant and the man was nowhere to be seen, she jumped from the bathtub and hastily finished her bath. She put on her fresh garments, but at the same time she realised that all the time Kuroro was bathing, her garments—including her underwear—were hanging in their full glory from one of the hooks on the door.

If Kurapika had been in the water, the water might have started to bubble upon being boiled by the heat emitted from her face. That was seriously, utterly, ultimately embarrassing. It could only mean that Kuroro Lucifer had a full view of her undergarments.

Her knees turned weak and she started whining pathetically. She would not be able to look at the man straight in the eyes. After several minutes of trying to calm her soul and the embarrassment that was messing her head, she finally gathered up herself and bravely stepped out of the bathroom—only to shy away when Kuroro turned to look at her.

_I'm pathetic._ She cursed herself.

"Kurapika." He began with serious voice, and she froze in her track. She did not turn around to face him. "Your belongings are missing."

"WHAT?"

* * *

Meanwhile, as it was all lively and noisy in Kuroro's quarter, it was rather solemn in Ishtar's temple. Lucian was comfortably seated among Ishtar's innumerable pillows and cushions, and before him was the Lady of Ryuusei-gai herself.

"It has been a while since the last time I met you, Lady. Your beauty and youth is really eternal." He politely flattered her.

"And yours as well. Now, why have you come here, young Count of Wallachia? Have you come here to gather some ingredients for your little drugs experiment again?" She asked with soft amused chuckles.

"Ah, always right on the spot. Well, as you have seen through me, there are some ingredients that I can only get here. That said; can I have your permission to scour your forest in search of them?"

"By all means, the forest is open for you. You are one of Kuroro's trusted people, and that is already something extraordinary. Speaking of drugs, how many of your wonder drugs have been patented?" Ishtar asked with mild curiosity.

"No, no. I won't patent any of my invented drugs; they are all for personal usages. So, I take it that I'm allowed to borrow Basille as well?"

As if responding to her name, the said basilisk slithered her way and climbed to Lucian's shoulder. With her forked tongue, she licked Lucian's cheek to 'taste' him.

_It has been yeeeeaaarssss…_the basilisk hissed with recognition.

"Ah, Basille. Still pretty as ever, eh? Can I take a bit of your essence for my drugs?" Lucian asked while stroking her amazingly smooth scales.

_I only concede to my Lady's wishes…_replied the snake.

"You can have her." Ishtar said with a nod and an amiable smile.

"Many thanks to your generosity, my Lady." Lucian bowed his head respectfully. "Oh, aside from that, Lucifer had asked me to return this to you."

Lucian rummaged through the pocket of his suit and finally produced a tiny egg from it. It was the egg that Ishtar had given to Kuroro via Suzaku. Ishtar retrieved it and put it against the light to eye it closely. Lucian had no idea of the meaning of that gesture, but he did catch the satisfied smile that graced the lady's pale face.

"Milady," called Lucian lightly.

Lucian straightened up and leaned forwards, the playful look on his face was replaced by something serious. Ishtar raised an eyebrow at his change of demeanour. Lucian swallowed once before he opened his mouth.

"I have a favour to ask."

"And that is?" She asked with silky voice.

"It's about Lucifer and Kurapika."

* * *

Kurapika folded her arms across her chest while tapping the floor impatiently with her foot. She glared at all of the Spiders who were gathered by Kuroro before her.

"Who. Is. The. Culprit?" She said with tight voice.

Some of them only looked at each other with pure bewilderment, but some were behaving rather strangely—notably Nobunaga, Kalluto, Feitan, Shalnark, and Phinks. She eyed them with the greatest of suspicion. Kuroro sighed; it was one of those hard days with Kurapika and the Spiders lumped together under the same roof.

"Well?" She demanded.

Some of them shrugged nonchalantly, not caring whether Kurapika lost all her belongings; all her clothes, or not. Seeing that the Spiders were most uncooperative, Kurapika took out her Dowsing Chain and began interrogating the most suspicious of all; Nobunaga, Feitan, and Phinks. She let out Shalnark because he might just be fidgeting from nervousness; he was not the type to pull that kind of pranks anyway. As for Kalluto, well, the boy resented all of Killua's friends alright, but what was the point of doing that anyway? If he had a mind like any Zaoldyck would, he would choose a more sadistic prank.

First, Feitan—nil. Second, Nobunaga—nil. The samurai snorted in dry triumph and disdain at her. She ignored him. Lastly, Phinks—the Dowsing Chain stirred and finally oscillated surely and steadily. She heard almost inaudible gulps coming from some people. Kurapika withdrew her Dowsing Chain silently. Kuroro raised an eyebrow, curious to see how the expected disaster would unfold.

Kurapika then looked up and glared daggers at Phinks, her Eyes turning scarlet in less than a millisecond.

"You big, fat liar." She said menacingly. "Now give me back my clothes and I may spare your pathetic life."

"Feh." Phinks sneered. "Think you can do that?"

"Oh, yes I can." Kurapika chirped sweetly while regarding him with a very evil smile that sent a chill down his spine. Only then Phinks realised that something hard was coiling around his body, like a snake trapping its prey.

"Since when?"

Kuroro looked on with marvel at Kurapika. Now he knew why Uvogin – the monstrous Uvogin – had been defeated by this scrawny girl. She was smart and cunning for someone her age, dangerously so.

"Now…" She continued with cruel smile etched on her evil expression. "Should I use Judgment Chain on you instead?"

"Try me." Phinks challenged her while glaring at her.

"Phinks." Kuroro called him, and the said man turned to look at his Danchou. "Be good. I assure you that being pierced by _that_ is far from pleasant."

Kuroro's voice sounded almost too serious that Phinks could not help but to gulp hard. Truthfully, Kuroro was just messing around with his Spider after all the trouble that the perverted man had caused for him, although he did admit that being restricted by the Judgment Chain was not comfortable at all.

Kurapika summoned her Judgment Chain, and it hovered like a cobra ready to strike him to death. The other Spiders observed the situation closely; if they knew of the chain-assassin's technique and skills, she would be a little threat in the future should she decide to hunt them down again—though Kuroro insisted that she would not do such thing. She was the type who kept her promises, no matter how painful.

"Then, first condition will be—"

"I get it! I get it already! I'll return you your backpack!" Phinks finally gave in.

Nobunaga laughed gleefully at the sight of Phinks being scared off by a little girl, while Feitan mocked him heartily. Phinks only grumbled and stomped away to get the backpack, but returned almost too quickly with his hands empty and his face wan.

"My things?" Kurapika demanded, her voice dangerously venomous.

"Gone." He whispered in utter horror.

"WHAT?" Kurapika yelled, but her face turned pale all the same.

"Dummy. This is Ryuusei-gai. You left it outside, you should know it'll get stolen." Machi said coldly, her words piercing Phinks over and over again, like the knife of a butcher who was slaughtering a pig.

"Tough luck, Phinks." Feitan snickered with glee.

"She'll gut you." Shalnark said in slight horror.

"Let's prepare for his funeral." Franklin said slowly.

"Hey I'm not dead yet!" Phinks protested, but it sounded more like a whimper than anything.

"You'll be dead meat if you don't find them by tomorrow morning." Kurapika glowered at him fiercely, her chains rattling impatiently, as if itching to plunge its blade into his heart.

Kuroro sighed inwardly. It was very fortunate of them to have dropped by the Prancing Pony Inn to store the Scarlet Eyes they had gathered before coming to Ryuusei-gai. Otherwise, with the Scarlet Eyes lost yet again, Kurapika would not hesitate to murder Phinks in the most painful, gruesome ways right there right then.

He then took the seething Kuruta's arm and started dragging her back to their room. "Well, good luck, Phinks."

"Danchou, how could you?"

"Serve you right." Machi said again glacially.

"Machi, have you no compassion?"

"She's got no heart, alright."

"Hmph."

"Shit. Kalluto! You are coming with me because it was your idea!"

"Wha—GYAA!"

And so Phinks dragged him along in search for Kurapika's lost backpack.

* * *

Kurapika was still livid when they were in his bedroom. She still kept ranting about Phinks' unbelievable antics, and how Kuroro had not taught his subjects proper manners, and so on and so forth. Kuroro knew that he would be better off if he just listened to her silently, instead of arguing with her as they usually did.

Unable to take her apprehension and anger, Kuroro gave up. He stood up from his bed and called to Kurapika.

"Come here." He nodded to a certain direction. "I'll show you something."

Kurapika raised her eyebrows, surprised that the Spider Head would offer to show her around his 'home'. She was not really in the mood of looking around, but then again it might alleviate her anxiety and vexation. Henceforth, she followed after him as he unlocked a certain door and gestured at her to enter. When she stepped into the dark, unlit room, the air was stale but not as dusty as it had been in other rooms. Kuroro pressed the light switch, and the room was flooded by a blinding light for a moment.

In the next few seconds, Kurapika found herself literally gawking at the scene before her. In the room, standing against the worn out wall of the building were shelves that reached the high ceilings, all of them overflowing with books of many colours and sizes, not to mention titles and languages and ages.

"My personal library." Kuroro announced proudly.

Kurapika approached the shelves and began scanning the titles of the books. She traced them with her fingers gingerly, as if afraid that upon mere touch they would crumble into dusts.

"Oh. My. God! These are some of the books that I've been looking for! How on Earth did you get these copies? I thought they're gone for good from the surface of this Earth!"

Kuroro chuckled.

"Well, if you're so interested in them, you can take some. After all, I've read almost all of them."

"This insane amount of books? You really have too much time in your hands, haven't you?"

"Perhaps so." He muttered slowly. "But I envy you."

Kurapika's eyes widened, as wide as a saucer plate. "Why?"

"You and your friends are really fond of 'why' questions, aren't you. Well, make a guess."

Kurapika eyed him suspiciously. Kuroro responded with a thin smile.

"Give it a shot. It won't hurt."

What? What was so unique in her that he envied her? What was the stark difference between her and him that made him envious? Moral conscience? Hardly. Suddenly, as if she had received divine inspiration from the Buddha, she just knew.

"…Because I have distinct and clear goals in my life."

Lately, she had come to understand that Kuroro's life; devoted to the Genei Ryodan as it was, had been like a drifting feather in the universe. It had no real purpose, no real goal, no clear destination whatsoever of where it wanted to go to. It might be the reason why his heartbeat seemed so hollow and deathlike to Senritsu – he had no life. Kuroro had pondered about it. He wondered whether what he was doing was his passion or a duty – a duty that he had claimed years back when he just intended to spite Ishtar.

Kuroro was silent for a moment, before he broke into one of his rarest smile. "I'm impressed."

His smile was almost too tender to her, and it almost gave her a heart attack.

"Would you believe, then, if I am to tell you that this personal library is my treasure?" He asked softly, keeping his gaze steady at her.

"Yes." Her reply came in less than a heartbeat. It came from her instinct and intuition in her heart, and had already escaped her mouth before it reached her mind to be processed first.

"_Would you also believe that you are the only one I have ever allowed in here?" _was what he had wanted to ask her, but he decided to keep it to himself.

Sometimes, some things were better left unknown.

* * *

"An Ifrit."

Kurapika and Kuroro stared at Ishtar dumbly, as if she was speaking in some alien language. The next day, as soon as morning had broken, they had fled to Ishtar's temple before the Spiders could blow Kurapika's fuse again. And regarding Kurapika's belongings, well, Phinks were practically still scouring the city for it. Kuroro miraculously managed to convince Kurapika to 'give him more time'.

"Come again?" Kurapika asked.

"You must find an Ifrit to dissolve Hassamunnin's curse." Seeing Kurapika's expression of complete cluelessness, Ishtar sighed and said, "Scheherazade will explain to you."

"Who?"

Ishtar raised an eyebrow; she did not know of what happened last night, but the two youths before her rather seemed to be in a daze or some sort. Well, it would be healthier for her not to misleadingly assume some _things_.

"Scheherazade." She repeated, and at the same time a figure stepped into the chamber.

She was a woman with divine beauty and perfection. Her thick wavy black hair bounced gracefully as she walked across the room soundlessly, her steps lively and dance-like. She was dressed in Arabian-Middle East dancer attire—which consisted of a 'bikini' and long, transparent pants that showed the silhouette of her beautiful legs— with jingling ornaments all over her body. A translucent veil was draped on the crown of her head, while her golden honey skin glistened alluringly under the dim illumination of the room. With a bounce, she sat next to Ishtar, her ornaments jingling merrily.

"Hello there." She greeted them sweetly, her voice soft and light.

Kurapika could only gaze at her with marvel, while Kuroro only looked at her disinterestedly. Another weird acquaintance of her, he had told himself.

"Let's get straight to the point." The woman said in a sing-song voice. "When a genie casts a spell, the spell is held true to the conditions that the genie laid. Only a genie with greater power and rank is able to dissolve that spell. If one wishes to dissolve the spell, then one must find a more powerful genie that is willing to lend a helping hand."

"Which is not easy," deduced Kuroro.

"Mmhmm…" She gave him a small smile, and raised five long delicate fingers. "Now there are five classes of genies by increasing order of their powers: Jann, Djinn, Shaitan, Ifrit, and Marida. Hassamunnin; despite him being silly, naughty, and nonsensical, was one of the strongest Shaitan. He actually is classified to be an Ifrit, but unfortunately he is too fond of being mischievous to focus on ascending into the Ifrit rank."

Kuroro and Kurapika listened to her intently, and Scheherazade proceeded with her explanation.

"So, we have searched for an Ifrit slightly stronger than Hassamunnin and we found him. His name is Deifri, and he is a wild Ifrit, banished from our community because of his disobedience and ruthlessness. Now your job is to negotiate with this Ifrit about dissolving the bind, but that is not an easy task considering genies are very strict with their spells and it is highly unlikely that they will concede with your request. Highly likely, he will pick a fight."

"And so why are you assigning us to a 'wild, disobedient, and ruthless', or in simpler term, evil Ifrit?" Kurapika asked carefully.

"Because if you fight and kill a genie that belongs to a community, you are making enemies with the whole community. So, it's better to deal with a solitary genie. It takes time to find Deifri because most of the 'evil' Ifrit are way stronger than Hassamunnin, and you will stand no chance against them."

Kuroro snorted lightly as he felt underestimated by Scheherazade's reasoning. If anything, he felt slightly offended but he knew that genie's power was a big deal. So he kept his mouth shut. Schereazade noticed this and flashed him an amused smile.

"Well, all those said," Ishtar said as she took over the conversation again, "now it's time for the test."

"Test?" Kuroro narrowed his eyes, shooting Ishtar a dubious look.

"Yes, a _test_ to see how far you two are compatible with each other in life-and-death battle."

A smirk that almost looked evil to Kurapika graced Ishtar's beautiful face coldly, and she removed the hair band that held the curly mass of her jet-black hair. As the hair dropped and unfurled its curly twists, the texture of the hair changed drastically. Kurapika's eyes widened in horror as she witnessed the transformation.

Before long, the graceful Lady of Ryuusei-gai before her was replaced by a female creature with snake hair. Those snakes hissed wildly and venomously, snapping crudely to all direction as if itching to bite something to death. Her black eyes were replaced by bloodshot eyes that glared at them hungrily, while she bared her canines at them.

Too dumbstruck with the drastic change, Kurapika did not notice that a spear of some kind was falling from the ceiling, ready to impale her. Kuroro grabbed her by her waist—which was becoming a habit—hauled her from her spot and jumped away. A massive, gigantic spear with penetrated deep into the ground as it skewered the floor, crumbling the stone as if it was some kind of bread.

"What the—" Kurapika blinked as she dangled from Kuroro's arm (this was also becoming a habit).

Kuroro looked up to glare at Ishtar, but was dumbfounded when he laid his eyes on her.

She was no longer the Ishtar he knew. Her size had multiplied that she was now literally towering over them like a giant. Her lower body had also transformed into the body of a snake; thick, slick, and scaly. The upper body was still that of a human, with her skin still milky white and scale-less, but her whole being radiated an entirely different aura—a monstrous aura. Ishtar was now in the full glory of her medusa persona.

_You two will fight me to death before you can set out of look for this Ifrit!_ Her voice boomed and echoed in the spacious chamber. Kurapika had half-expecting a hissing voice like a snake's voice, but her voice turned out to be rather slithery than hissing.

Without waiting for any explanation, the medusa wrenched the spear from the stone floor like picking a toothpick from a lump of dough, and she slithered her way swiftly and furiously out of the chamber, into the wilderness of the forest behind the temple. The two youths could only gawk at the gate where Ishtar had disappeared into. Scheherazade observed the two of them with an unreadable expression on her exotic face, before she clapped her hands to get their attention.

"When you are ready to face her, see me here and I will take you to her." Scheherazade said with calm voice.

"Do we really have to—" Kurapika had started, but the woman raised one decisive hand to stop her.

"Show us that you are capable of returning alive from the highly possible fight with the Ifrit, by defeating her," said Scheherazade, her visage serious and unrelenting. "Otherwise, neither she nor I will tell you how to find the Ifrit, and you can spend your entire life together, if you do not mind that."

Kurapika gave a funny choked sound, while Kuroro frowned. Scheherazade gave them a wide smile, as if to somewhat encourage them.

"So, best of luck."

* * *

They were both silent when they reached Kuroro's quarter. Both ignored the pestering questions by the Spiders, most notably Phinks (who flinched whenever he spotted her) and Nobunaga, and they made a beeline for Kuroro's personal sleeping quarter.

"Kuroro," asked Kurapika with small voice as soon as they were in his bedroom.

"Hm?" His voice was even and trained, betraying nothing of his heavy heart.

"Will you really kill her?"

"…" Kuroro stopped dead in his track and closed his eyes. He would want to avoid killing Ishtar, of course, but he knew better than anyone else that the woman was able to push him to the corner where he would be forced to resort to killing her to survive. He simply knew it.

Kurapika could sense his answer, thereby she did not push him with her question. She threw a hesitant glance to the door that led to his personal library.

"Shall we—"

"No." Kuroro answered before the girl even finished her question. His tone was rather harsh and curt, surprising Kurapika a little. "No, there is no need to do any research." He said again with gentler tone.

Kurapika fell silent and waited until he elaborated more.

"There is only one way to kill a medusa."

"That is?" Kurapika knew that she did not want to know, all truth to be told, but she felt that she was obliged to ask.

Kuroro turned to give her a dead, soulless stare.

"By decapitating her."

* * *

"Is this really necessary?"

Lucian sat on top of a high branch of a tree while keeping his eyes from the medusa. Basille wrapped herself loosely around him, like a gigantic necklace. Ishtar had her back towards the vampire, as a safety precaution for him. She did not want to accidentally kill Kuroro's so-called friend with her lethal gaze. Her snakes swayed and slithered in her hair lazily, their hiss mingling with the quiet breeze.

_Yes,_ was her mere answer.

"You really shouldn't push him so hard, you know." He said again while stroking Basille's clean body.

_I cannot risk it,_ she reasoned. _If they cannot defeat me in their current state, they are only delivering their souls to death by confronting Deifri. _

"Oh, _puh-leeease_." He rolled his eyes. "Deifri is a freaking Ifrit. YOU are a fallen goddess! You are much more powerful than that genie is. What if they die fighting you?"

_Do you honestly believe I will kill them?_ Ishtar snapped at him, though still not averting her lethal gaze towards him.

"But you said—"

_Until they manage to kill me, only then I will let them go to hunt Deifri. _

"Oh, I see…" Lucian leaned his back against the cold tree trunk. "But that's too cruel. He'll never forgive you for that."

_Does it matter? He already hates me, this makes no difference, _Ishtar said with sad voice.

"It does. Ishtar, you will regret this." He said quietly while narrowing his grey eyes unhappily. Lucian knew that Kuroro had forgiven her, after a little (forced) chit-chat he had with the younger man.

Ishtar only smiled to herself. _As for your request, they are doing well. The path has been set, everything has been cleared. _

"Are they? That's good to hear." A warm smile graced Lucian's pale face.

_I am surprised that you are so concerned with their well-being. Why, young Count of Wallachia?_

Lucian's smile broadened as he picked a leaf and twirled it playfully with his sinewy fingers.

"I simply like them together."

* * *

Trees were falling around with loud crashing sounds. The ground shook violently as a gigantic entity was battling two mortals. It was a long, arduous fight—not to mention ill-fated.

With the slightest flick of her waist, Ishtar swept an entire area clean with her massive snake body. Two figures landed from the air to the purged ground, both of them panting and sweating. Kurapika had one of her cheeks swollen from a punch she just received, while Kuroro—despite being in a much better condition—had his left sleeve tattered. Both were covered in shallow cuts and bruises since they were fighting in a forest, after all.

_What is wrong? Is that all you can do?_ Ishtar's voice boomed majestically as she looked down upon them.

"Tsch, this isn't working." Kurapika said as she spat the blood in her mouth and wiped the remaining blood from her lips.

"I told you there is only one way to kill a medusa." Kuroro said grimly as he flexed his wrists.

"Are you really serious?" Kurapika grimaced at the thought of decapitating Ishtar, despite her being a monster at that time.

"Have we other options?"

"…No."

Ishtar plunged her spear at them, and both jumped in unison to avoid being skewered into chunks of meat by that ridiculously huge spear. The bind between them had expanded so much that lately they had not even bothered to measure it. So far, they had not had any restricted moves. They were comfortable with the distance they maintained while battling the medusa. Things were looking good for them.

Or at least they thought so.

With a whip of her head, Ishtar turned to glare at them with her lethal eyes. Just in the nick of time, Kurapika wrapped her Chain around a branch of tree and whisked herself and Kuroro—by grabbing his arm—from the line of target of her stone-gaze. There were other traces of trees, grounds, and other things that had been stoned by the medusa's gaze. Being airborne, however, they were unable to avert their direction and so when Ishtar flung her hand towards them, they could only helplessly receive the full blow.

They were sent crashing towards the trees. The falling leaves and the snapped branches were pouring down like snow. Fits of cough could be heard from behind the curtain of dusts as the two fell into a heap after the impact. For once, Kurapika was the one lying on top of Kuroro.

She quickly scrambled to her feet to get off Kuroro, but she twitched as a sharp pang of pain assaulted her ribs—she knew she had broken a few ribs. Kuroro let out a small groan as he sat up. His left arm was twisted to a strange angle and it seemed boneless. Gingerly he touched his arm and grimaced.

"Dislocated and shattered bone." He announced, as if he was not examining his own arm.

Without wasting a breath or a second thought, Kurapika summoned her Holy Chain and began healing Kuroro's wasted arm. It was a gesture that had been purely instinctive. As she was busy with his arm, Kuroro noticed the incoming spear. Quickly he grabbed Kurapika's head and pushed it down to the ground to duck the slashing spear—had he not done that, they would be the ones ended up headless.

"Come on." He hissed as he hauled her in his good arm and jumped further from the rampaging medusa. Kurapika focused herself on healing Kuroro's arm despite her throbbing ribs.

"Heal your ribs." Kuroro said sternly as soon as his arm was as good as new.

Kurapika raised an eyebrow. How could he know that she had broken a few ribs? Apparently, when he pressed her body to his as he carried her, he could feel the strange disfigurement of her ribs. Obediently, Kurapika did as she was told.

_Come on, Kuroro, Kurapika! What are you waiting for?_ Ishtar bellowed as she charged at them.

Kuroro grimaced as he saw her plunging her claws to his direction. He closed his eyes in a mere second as he made up his mind.

"Kurapika, I'm counting on you."

The said girl looked at the stolid man with pure horror in her eyes that were brimming scarlet. They had discussed about it, and had come up with a plan but it was their last resort. Kurapika frowned at him and upon sensing his resolute, she could only gulp hard and followed along with the plan.

Ishtar's claws never touched them but only scarring the earthen ground. When she looked up in search of those two, Kurapika was hovering far above her, with Kuroro within the perimeter of their bind. Mustering all strength that she had, Kurapika held her two hands and spread her fingers. With much concentration, more Nen, and more blazing Scarlet Eyes—Kuroro thought that he was seeing a pair of miniature suns in her eyes—she produced ten identical chains. It would have been better if Kuroro was there to lend his Nen to her, but this was a job that she had to do alone.

With a flick of her wrists, she sent the chains to wrap themselves around Ishtar's limbs, neck, and waist like hungry snakes; to immobilise her as she tied the other ends of the chains to the trees and solid ground. She knew that it was a trick that could only last for a few meagre seconds, given Ishtar's raw strength alone. It was a dangerous gamble; it was a technique that they had just come up with last night and if this failed, her Nen would shatter and that would be the end of them.

Without wasting a single second, Kuroro did his part of the plan; the dirty job—decapitating her.

* * *

It was not a pretty sight; far from it. It also gave a sickening sensation in the bottom of his gut. He had seen many other people's heads rolling on the grounds, their innards, their gore, every single gruesome thing that ever existed on the face of Earth. He did not even bat an eyelash when he destroyed a man until he was literally only bits of flesh. But no, this time it was different—his stomach knotted uncomfortably as he looked at his surrogate mother's limp body.

No, he had not the heart to decapitate her. He had slashed deep enough so that her jugular veins were severed. It had been cruel, though, since it only meant that she would die a long, painful death.

But that was the only reason why he was still able to hold her intact in his arms. She could no longer move her head, only able to move her eyeballs in her eye sockets. When Kuroro had slit her throat until it was raining blood, she had instantly reverted back to her humane form, and her body landed on the periphery of Morgan le Fay's lake. Kurapika solemnly and respectfully stood behind Kuroro to allow them their last private moment together.

"Why didn't you tell me…" whispered Kuroro, "that you relinquish your immortality to save me that day?"

Even without having him to specify the time and place, Ishtar knew what he was referring to—the day she gave him her blood to save him. Ishtar smiled almost sadly at him as she observed the young man's face. Her eyes then seemed to travel to distant time.

"I am already tired of living. It has been far too long a life. I care of it no more," said she, her voice a faint whisper.

"What about Anansi?"

"I suspect he knows of this already. That man is an impossible gossiper, there it no story in this world that escapes from him," said Ishtar with slow, painful chuckles.

"Why didn't you explain to me whatever you have done for me?" Kuroro asked again, his voice still low and a whisper.

Ishtar gazed into the depth of his abysmal dark eyes. They both had dark eyes. They both had silky black hair. They both were pale. They were both good-looking; one suavely handsome and the other one mesmerizingly beautiful. It was no wonder if people would truly believe that they had been real mother and son.

"Kuroro…" Ishtar started, her voice soft. "They are all done for my own sake, on my own will. The years I spent bringing you up are pale in comparison to the centuries wherein I have existed, but they are my forever."

She sighed heavily, but it sounded more like a wheeze of dry air.

"You are my son, and will always be. I expect no thanks or gratitude from the child I brought up."

She raised a frail hand and caressed Kuroro's cheek. She smiled, and it alarmed both of them slightly as it gave off the goodbye impression.

"After all, it is the nature of a mother's love, is it not?" She looked at Kurapika from the corner of her eyes, seeing that she was no longer able to move her head. "Come here, Kurapika."

In a flash, Kurapika was already kneeling before her with both knees touching the bloody ground. She looked sickly pale and worn out from the battle. Ishtar moved her other hand a bit and Kurapika rushed to hold that weak hand—it was so frail in her touch.

"Look after him?" She asked with weak smile.

Kurapika's heart skipped two beats and she bit her lower lips hard. Her eyes were boring right into Ishtar's dark ones, and she could see the sincerity and the plea in it. How could she comply with such impossible request? He was her sworn enemy! But how could she refuse her of her final wish? She did not know whether her eyes betrayed her inner feelings or not, but she nodded her head solemnly. It was the least she could do to honour her.

To show her satisfaction and contentment to Kurapika's response, Ishtar closed her eyes. Then, as if answering to her cue, her whole body seemed to thin out and turned translucent. Her whole being became hazy and blurry, and Kuroro felt her weight in his arms disappearing. She opened her eyes again and looked at her dear boy's face.

_Kuroro…_Ishtar's voice was already as thin as the air. _I want to hear it…Just once…_

It was her last plea to Kuroro; her lifetime wish of being addressed as 'Mother' by her only son. Kuroro opened his mouth, but the word seemed to choke his throat.

_Kuroro…_

And before Kuroro could fulfil her last wish, Ishtar of Ryuusei-gai disintegrated into fine sands.

* * *

First it had been her hand that was touching Kuroro's cheek. Then the disintegrating spell spread throughout her entire body like poison. The pleading look was still etched on her beautiful face, and unfortunately it would haunt Kuroro to remind him of his failure. When she was entirely gone, Kuroro clutched his hands into tight fists.

Kurapika gave a choke when she saw this. To her, this kind of death was too painful—leaving no trace of oneself. Her gaze fell on Kuroro.

To Kurapika's eyes, it seemed like Kuroro was trying to hold on to what remained of Ishtar. The little bit of sands that he had grabbed with his hands, he kept it tightly in his grip but still they slipped from his fingers into even finer grains. In the end, not a single trace of her was left behind. They were blown by the wind and were swallowed into the depth of the lake.

Kuroro's back was slumped and his face was cast down. His messy fringe covered his face, and a shadow obscured whatever expression he had right then. Kurapika wanted to take a peek at his face, but she felt that it would be inappropriate to do so. Instead, she just froze there, sitting in front of him like a statue. Silence dominated their world until Kuroro's tiny whisper broke it.

"I didn't call her Mother…"

It felt like forever that the two stayed in that position. Finally, when Kuroro made a slight shift, he leaned forwards and lightly placed his forehead on Kurapika's shoulder. The girl did not do as much as a flinch. She only sat still, steady and calm. She would allow him be a spoiled child again. After all, what could she do when she felt the warm wetness that trickled to her arm as Kuroro leaned to her? She would let him have his moment of weakness—it was not often that she got to see this.

They had shared each other's moments of weakness, after all.

"Let me stay like this…" came his rather shaky voice, "for a while longer…"

_He is my enemy. He is my nemesis. I should kill him while I can, while I have the chance._ Kurapika though to herself. _So why…_

A hot, wet droplet of tear trickled down her cheek.

…_am I crying like this?_

She raised her arms and put her hands on his back, embracing him in a comforting way.

_Why…am I doing this?_

Kurapika curled her hands and grabbed a fistful of his shirt. She gave a hic as she tried to smother the impending sobs. Something constricted in her chest, suffocating her. She could feel _his _Nen that resided within her stirring restlessly, and it affected her. Kuroro responded by burying his face into the crook of her neck, not hesitating to let her feel his tears on her skin. He then clung to Kurapika as well, as if she was his lifeline.

Thunder rolled from distant, and black clouds hung ominously above them which at the same time casting a dolorous shade on the two figures interlocked in a consoling embrace. Soon enough, the sky poured their tears to mourn for the loss of the fallen goddess. The rain was heavy and cold, yet it did not faze the two mortals. The water of the lake lapped gently, and among the drizzling sound of water hitting the calm surface of the lake was a faint whisper:

_I will be your Aegis Shield…_

_

* * *

_

_**Author's Note: **__Hoo boy, this is a darn long chapter, but is this too cliché? I don't know, but I feel kind of bad for both Ishtar and Kuroro (despite being the author). By the way, the Aegis Shield here refers to Goddess Athena's shield that was adorned with Medusa's decapitated head. Sounds gruesome, I know. Oh, by the by, Lacrimosa means 'tearful' if I'm not wrong. I simply love that word ^^_

_**Next: **__With Isthar's death, they were given rightfully given the permission to hunt down the Ifrit named Deifri. However, how did they cope with the circumstances? And how would the hunt end? Would they really be able to dissolve the bind and ultimately earn their freedom? Was it going to be the end?_


	25. Chapter 25: Intercession

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own HunterxHunter_

_**Story so far: **__It was the inevitable; Ishtar had to die in Kuroro's hands. With her death, they were rightfully given the permission to hunt down the Ifrit. How would it end? Would they really earn their freedom at long last?_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 25**

_**INTERCESSION**_

_**

* * *

**_

They stood side by side in amiable silence, both looking at the small grave that they had made to respect Ishtar's death. It was a simple grave, located not far from Morgan le Fay's lake where her dusts had drowned into, with a small tombstone with Ishtar's name carved on it.

After the downpour during Ishtar's death, both of them stayed in the temple, not bothering to change their soaked clothes and had instead locked themselves in Ishtar's sandalwood fragranced room. It had been Kuroro's unspoken wish, and Kurapika had simply complied with his whims. She had tolerated him, even as he rested his head on her shoulder again and drifted to sleep as they sat in the dark corner of the room with their backs against the cold wall.

"Do you want me to tell you where I buried Uvogin?" Kurapika suddenly asked with small voice while her eyes were still fixed on the small mound by the lake.

"You buried him?"

She nodded.

"Thank you."

He flashed a thin smile, and his countenance once more betrayed nothing of his immense feeling of loss. Kurapika, however, had mastered the art of seeing right through that endless darkness of his eyes; she was now able to read what lay behind that stoic face. Though it gave a disturbing implication on Kurapika's part, she did not struggle against that fact as she usually did. She was tired of pointless struggle against the inevitable.

Wordlessly, Kuroro turned around and walked away. Kurapika silently followed after him, only stopping to spare the last glance at Ishtar's humble grave. Ishtar was her enemy's 'mother', but she could feel the tremendous loss in her heart when she died – as if Ishtar was her mother as well. She shuddered at the thought. Was it because in her blood was Ishtar's blood as well; one that she received from Kuroro?

Kurapika looked at Kuroro's back. Would she feel the same heartbreaking loss when the man died? After all, they shared the same blood, not to mention that she had a piece of his Nen inside her.

She closed her eyes, trying to imagine the day when Kuroro died—and the result was terrifying. Her heart suddenly missed a beat as a picture of her standing all alone in darkness flashed in her mind. With haste and fear Kurapika snapped open her eyes, only to again look at Kuroro's solitary back. The sensation had been unnerving. The feeling of being alone without him…

_It's frightening…_she admitted to herself. Then a more horrifying realisation hit her hard, and it felt like pouring salts on open wound. _I will never be able to kill him, won't I?_ She thought bitterly, and it was true in the sense of skill, power, and bond. Her bond with him ran too much deep because of the accursed bind, but they were going to severe it soon enough. She tried to smile with satisfaction to herself at that thought, but could not.

Kuroro suddenly slowed down, blissfully unaware of the mental struggle that Kurapika was undergoing just some paces behind him, as he spotted Scheherazade waiting for them at the gate of the temple. Kuroro narrowed his eyes, and continued walking towards the gate.

As soon as Kuroro was near enough, the woman straightened up and blocked his way to the door. She gave him an even smile, raised an arm and pointed her closed fist to Kuroro.

"Here, for you." The woman said huskily as she opened her fist, revealing a small egg in her palm. "Your reward from Isthar."

Kurapika flinched at the name, but Kuroro only silently picked the egg delicately with his fingers from her hand. He examined it briefly, before he looked up and stared at the woman with accusing eyes.

"This is the egg that we returned to her," he hissed.

"And Ishtar is giving it back to you." Scheherazade said coolly.

Just as Kuroro opened his mouth to protest, the egg cracked lightly. Both Kurapika and Kuroro looked at it with wonder. Previously, no matter how harsh and rough the egg was treated, it would not crack. When the egg was finally thoroughly broken, it revealed the inside of it – a ring.

Gingerly Kuroro took out the ring and examined it. It was a ring made of brass and iron, with a carving of words that he did not understand, four jewels and a very prominent golden symbol of Star of David. Kuroro's eyes widened ever so slightly as realization dawned on him.

"The Solomon Ring," he whispered disbelievingly.

"One and only." The woman nodded. "A legendary ring that contains 72 demons. It will be your last, solid defence against Deifri. However, the problem lies in the fact that you have not mastered the ring's power yet."

"Master it?" Kurapika squeaked. She had no idea that she would ever stumble across the real Solomon Ring.

"If you can master it, you will have 72 demons at your disposal, ready to carry out any wishes you have." Scheherazade smiled at him, more like a devil tempting him than explaining to him.

Kuroro said nothing for a while, only staring at the ring silently until he finally looked up slowly and stared hard at the woman.

"What do you have to say about this ring?" He asked cautiously.

Scheherazade smiled with at him—just like Ishtar told her, the boy had pretty sharp mind and perspective.

"The ring has lost its previous master—who was Ishtar—and therefore it has recognised you as its next master."

"I don't suppose it's that easy and fast for the ring to recognise its new master." Kuroro narrowed his eyes suspiciously, sensing that the woman had left out tiny-wee-bit of information.

Scheherazade now grinned impishly.

"Oho…Smart boy." She nodded with approval at him. "True. The egg you've been carrying in your journey analysed and absorbed your energy, accumulating data on your personality, ideals, way of thinking, and other things over time. Those energy and data are then processed by the ring to determine whether you are worthy to be its master or not. You know the rest of it."

All the while Scheherazade answered the young man's questions flatly with her soft, husky voice; depicting her easygoing yet distant personality. Kurapika's eyes widened upon getting one rather disturbing realization: Ishtar might have gotten herself killed by them so that she could pass down the Solomon Ring to Kuroro for his protection. She glanced at Kuroro, who was taking everything in awfully calmly. There was no expression whatsoever on his face; only blank, unreadable visage. It was like looking at the face of the old Kuroro Lucifer—one who had been the ruthless, heartless leader of the Geneir Ryodan.

"I see." He finally said, his tone perfectly composed.

"Wait a minute." Kurapika suddenly cut in sharply. She looked at Scheherazade with a hard stare. "Suzaku said that a child will be born from it, not a ring."

Kuroro raised an eyebrow. Yes, he had almost forgotten that part. He turned to regard the woman with a questioning look. The said woman raised one perfect eyebrow and folded her arms across her ample chest. She then frowned. And then she finally gave away one crooked smile.

"He fooled you." She said with a light giggle. "No, since the beginning there is no child whatsoever to be born from it."

"WHAT?" Kurapika squeaked in a voice akin to that of a squeezed mouse.

Oh, how Kurapika felt like teleporting to wherever Suzaku was and started beating him senseless. How could he lie through his teeth like that! Him and his cousin the Phoenix—both were dangerous liars! Kurapika was already seething mad and was clenching her fists in wrath, but Kuroro seemed placid as ever.

"And?" He asked calmly.

"I'll be your guide to Defiri's lair. Tell me whenever you are ready to depart."

With that, Scheherazade turned and left them alone.

* * *

The night was dead and cold. The breeze was chilly and cooling, but that was exactly that he needed. The window to Kuroro's room was opened to welcome all fresh air, while Kuroro stood by it, embracing all coldness the wind could offer him. He had a cold shower, but it did little to help alleviate the pensiveness in him. He had never felt so emotional yet so expressionless before.

Kurapika observed him quietly from her seat on the bed they shared. Embarrassing as it was, they had to share a bed together since they had no spare beds whatsoever. They slept with their back to each other, though. Suddenly, the matter about Kurapika's missing backpack was trivial (she had given Phinks an uncaring, blank stare when he was stuttering something about the issue). She kept her eyes glued to Kuroro's back.

The more he felt restless, the more she felt it too. She laughed at the irony. Why would she be affected on what he was feeling? The man had slyly sealed her fate: she would never be able to kill him for all matters, not in her lifetime. She recalled the moment when she had been terrified to find herself without him. The recollection alone mortified her to the extent that her blood ran cold.

_Why is this all happening to me? What's wrong with me? _She whimpered pathetically to herself, while burying her face into her propped up knees. She felt so helpless.

_Is it because of the piece of his Nen inside me? Can I…_She became reluctant. _…purge it out of my system?_

No, actually, the real question would be: Do I have the will to purge it?

"Kurapika."

His soft voice ripped her from her tumultuous mind and she whipped her head to look up. Oceanic blue eyes were met with dead black eyes. He was tired, she knew, and so without saying anything she shifted to give him his portion of the bed. Wordlessly, he lay down on the bed but this time he did not give her his back. Instead, he lay so that he was facing her. He had a question that had been bothering him since Isthar's death.

_Is it really worth it to have Ishtar dead in exchange of breaking the bind? _

Honestly, if he had to juggle the pros and cons, he really did not mind putting up with Kurapika. She had been pleasant lately, notably after the 'Scarlet Tears' event. Was it a fair bargain to lose his only 'mother' so that he could get away from Kurapika? The thought had never crossed his mind earlier before Ishtar's confrontation and death.

_Is it really worth it?_ He mentally struggled.

At first Kurapika ignored his incessant stare and she went on with her own disturbed thought, but over time she could not stand it.

"What?" She snapped rudely at him. He was not fazed.

"Talk to me." He simply said.

"Huh?" She blinked at him.

"Distract me." He rephrased his words.

Kurapika's eyes softened and she looked away. Well, at least he was humane enough to have the need to be distracted from his emotions, and she would tolerate him for that. She swallowed lightly and tried to think of what to say to him. She fiddled with her toes while he kept his stare steady on her.

"I wonder how you've been keeping in touch with those old acquaintances of yours." She finally settled with that easy question.

"Which one? Lucian? He comes and goes like a shadow, there is no need for me to keep track of him. Usually he'll come to bug me before I even miss him. Abelard Constantin? We exchange phone number, as simple as that," answered Kuroro flatly. He paused, and added:

"And one more thing. He was one of the patrons that purchased the Scarlet Eyes from me."

When Kuroro said this, his voice was low and like a passing breeze, as if he was most reluctant to say it but was obliged to tell her. Kurapika did freeze for a second when she heard the revelation.

"But it was Shalnark who bargained with him. He never knows that I was the one behind the massacre."

Kurapika turned to look at him with unreadable expression, and slowly but surely she lay down on the bed next to him, facing him. Kuroro had sounded like he was confessing his sins against her. They stared into each other's eyes in seemingly interminable time, before Kurapika asked softly.

"Tell me how you come up with the 12-legged idea of Genei Ryodan."

Kuroro's eyes widened slightly—he had never expected her, of all people, to be interested in the history of the Genei Ryodan—but nonetheless he quickly composed himself. Obediently, he answered her curiosity.

* * *

Ten-years-old Kuroro wandered in the forest behind the temple which he had called 'home' at that time. He was battered and bruised, the result of another hellish training with Ishtar. He huffed in vexation at the thought of him being beaten up by a frail-looking woman. Nevertheless, he somehow knew that she was no human, despite her refusal to reveal the true nature of her self.

So distracted he was, that he failed to notice the lurking beast in the vicinity. Despite being under Isthar's territory, the forest was still a thriving habitat of many vicious beasts. In fact, it was Ishtar's protection that allowed these creatures to flourish in number.

The boy had only noticed the bristling bushes when the next second he found himself pinned down to the ground, a calloused hairy hand holding his neck like holding a twig. His eyes registered perfectly everything he was seeing: a gigantic wolf that stood on his hind legs—a werewolf.

The werewolf's flashing red eyes glowered hungrily at him, longing to devour him. Being the inexperience little boy he was, Kuroro was only able to cower in fear. He had yet to be exposed to more dangers in his life. The beast raised his other clawed hand and brought it down with force that was capable of squishing his head like pumpkin, but it never happened.

Instead, he only saw the werewolf being kicked on its side and was sent flying through a tree. Kuroro coughed as he rubbed his bruised neck tenderly, flinching at the pain. When he looked up, he noticed at the back of the stranger that had just arrived a few days ago and had approached Ishtar shamelessly and so casually like old friends.

The man turned his head to scrutinise him.

"No broken bone, boy? What a surprise." The stranger said with a grin as his dark eyes twinkled in amusement.

Kuroro only gave a hostile hiss at him. The werewolf let out an enraged howl and charged at the stranger like a mad bull. The stranger with medium length platinum gold hair and dark ochre skin turned to the werewolf and sighed in exasperation.

"Werewolves are such royal pain in the ass. Keep that in mind, boy."

Without warning whatsoever, the man suddenly began sprouting other limbs—ten spider limbs, to be exact—from his sides. Young Kuroro could only gawk at him in pure terror and utter amazement. He had never seen something so, so…strange? No, that would be an understatement.

"Silver is the best weapon against them, but since I have no silver ammo then my poison should suffice."

When the werewolf was close enough, he grabbed the beast barehanded with his human arms and then swiftly jabbed his ten spider limbs into the werewolf's flesh. The beast howled in pain but the poison took rapid effect. The werewolf visibly weakened but it would not go down without any last retaliation.

Wrenching one of its muscular arms from the man's grip, it grabbed the man's head and tore it off from his shoulders.

* * *

Kurapika cringed and grimaced at Kuroro's story. Exposed to such violence since young age, no wonder his heart became so desensitised. Kuroro only smiled grimly at her expression and continued with his tale.

* * *

10-years-old Kuroro yelped in surprised as the man's head landed on his lap while his blood showered him almost thoroughly. The man's dark eyes looked at him in a surprised expression. The werewolf roared as it tossed aside the headless body, its fur bristling in rage and pain. Young Kuroro tried to scoot away from the danger, but he was too frightened to move.

"Relax, kiddo. You won't die or _she_ will mangle me to death." The head on his lap suddenly spoke without losing its easygoing tone.

Again the little Kuroro yelped at the talking head. He almost tossed it roughly aside if a portion of his logic had not convinced him to stay still.

"Now see as I finish that bitch," said the head as it grinned from ear to ear.

Kuroro looked up and saw his headless body getting up from the dirt and advancing to the werewolf steadily and surely. Ten spider limbs then jabbed themselves into the beast's flesh and injected lethal dose of poison into its system. Almost immediately, the werewolf crumpled to the ground without even giving a twitch.

The boy looked at the whole thing with open mouth. The head chuckled with satisfaction upon seeing that priceless expression of the stoic boy he had come to barely know in the past few days. His headless body sauntered towards the boy and picked up its head. With ease, as if he was installing the head of a doll, he put back his head on its proper place. He looked up after testing his neck muscles and saw Isthar standing not too far away, a murderous look on her deadly beautiful face. Her hands were on her hips.

"I will appreciate it more if you have not taught him profanities," Ishtar shot him a hard glare, "Anansi."

* * *

"I have never heard you shouting profanities." Kurapika said with accusation.

"Why should I? That's not my style." Kuroro shrugged, still in his lying down position.

_You incorrigible debonair,_ Kurapika scoffed half-heartedly as she rolled her eyes.

"That's how I came to know of he 12-legged spider, which is Anansi himself."

"And that was the start of him claiming to be your 'daddy' and calling you his 'little boy'?" Kurapika asked with wide smirk.

Kuroro frowned—or to be exact, pouted—at her. He did not like being treated like a little child and, for goodness sake, especially not by Kurapika since he was nine years her senior, after all. He had just opened his mouth to say something but a loud bang of the window being forced open stopped him from doing that.

"Hey, guys, I—" Lucian froze in his place on the windowsill as he spotted the cuddling—or so he later termed it—couple on the bed. With a mischievous smirk, he slowly turned around and snickered. "_Scuze _(Romanian for 'sorry'), looks like I interrupt—AAAAAHHHH!"

He fell on his butt on the solid ground as his neck was wrapped in Kurapika's cold chains and he was forced back into the room. When he turned back after rubbing his sore butt, he saw Kurapika's face glowing in the dark in the full glory of its redness. Both of them were already sitting up on the bed. She looked flustered alright, but Kuroro seemed comfortable and unaffected. If anything, he could feel his irritation at his 'interruption'.

"W, what brings you here?" Kurapika asked, but her voice sounded more like a squeak than anything, still embarrassed like a teenage girl caught red-handed admiring the photo of her crush.

"Hm? Oh, well…I…." Lucian fidgeted with his fingers, suddenly unsure of what purpose he had for barging into their 'private moment'.

"Lucian." Kuroro demanded with icy tone.

If he had not known Kuroro for years, he might have yelped in surprise when he heard Kuroro's tone. Kuroro's mood had definitely taken a sharp dive for the worse because of his recklessness.

"Well… I just want to tell you guys that I won't be coming along in your trip to more dangers…" He finally said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Hmm… Still the ol' coward Lucian I know." Kuroro said with a smirk.

Lucian's face scrunched up upon hearing Kuroro's deliberate teasing to his pride. Nevertheless, he cringed when he remembered what the two would be facing.

"_Ei bine, îmi pare rău!_(Romanian for 'Well, sorry!') Call me prudent," he huffed in annoyance and folded his arms across his chest. "But I still love this current life I have so I don't want squander it so early by facing a wild Ifrit—Oh!" Something clicked at the back of his mind. "Speaking of that…"

Lucian turned to Kurapika, who by then had assumed a neutral expression again, throwing her flustered expression out of the window.

"I just remember," a small smile crept its way to Lucian's porcelain-like face, "I can offer you eternity, you know…_fata_."

Kurapika blinked.

"Pardon?" She asked with frown.

"That way, you can leisurely take you own sweet time collecting those Eyes of your desire. Of course I'm willing to help you out in place of this stuck-up guy." He said while pointing a finger at Kuroro.

Kuroro snorted at his silly proposition and turned to address Kurapika. "I keep my promise, but if you want me to back out, I have no objection. Only, are you ready to abandon your humanity in exchange of eternity? Personally, it's too hefty a price for me."

"You are just too stingy." Lucian said with a pout.

Kurapika was silent for a while, before she answered confidently and smoothly.

"Thank you for the offer, but no. I have my own pride and dignity. Born as a human, die as a human; that's my belief."

Lucian whistled in awe.

"How bizzare. That's exactly the same as this guy said years ago when I offered him the same thing."

* * *

Phoenix tapped one of her feet impatiently as she stood imposingly in front of Ishtar's tombstone. Her face was contorted into that of anger and dissatisfaction. The water of the lake stirred uneasily, responding to the Phoenix's agitation.

"You," she pointed an accusing finger at the tombstone, "are a complete idiot, do you _freaking_ know that?"

_Phoenix, calm down…_ The water said, trying to dampen the Lady in Red's seething anger.

"How can I?" She spat. "I'll be damned if I can be calm when this, _this_ idiot of a woman has just thrown away her chance to regain her former glory and immortality, by replacing the content of the egg with that blasted Solomon Ring?"

Despite her overwhelming rage, there was a tinge of sadness in her rough voice. Phoenix bit her lower lip and looked away, her foot still tapping the ground unnecessarily.

_That is her decision, and you should know her well enough, _the water said in a rather chastising tone, _that she has had enough with this life. _

"Damn it! She does all these to protect that spoiled brat and he is not even her flesh and blood!"

_He is of her blood, that much is true, Phoenix. She gave her blood to him._ Morgan le Fay said sharply as the water began to assume her humanoid appearance. She frowned at the short-tempered Lady in Red.

"That egg…absorbed whatever feelings the boy has towards her…" Phoenix said with tremulous voice. "And surprisingly, it has supposedly sufficient energy to revive her right here right now, if I use my Fire on it. But no… Dammit…"

It was known then that someone bathed in Phoenix Fire was able to defy death only once, or so they said. She had planned to bathe the egg in her Fire, and thus hopefully gave Ishtar a second chance of life, but no.

"She chose to protect her little boy," a male voice came from behind Phoenix.

Phoenix spun on her heels and was confronted by Anansi. He had an air of despondency around him, while his grim face looked more distressed than ever. For once, Ging was not with him. Phoenix shot him a heated glare, but said nothing. She merely observed him quietly as he knelt before the small grave and put down a bottle of sandalwood incense on top of the small mound. Sandalwood was always her favourite.

"Now that she can never come back, what are you going to do? Regain your former glory of a God?" Phoenix asked quietly.

Only a few people—or creatures in their terms—knew of Isthar's and Anansi's history. They were previously a God and a Goddess who dwelt in the realm above the human realm. However, even fewer people knew that the reason of their fall was simply because they had been infatuated with each other—it was the highest form of crime in their realm.

"_That is a disgustingly ridiculous rule,"_ Phoenix had scoffed with utter disdain upon knowing it for the first time, and Ishtar had only laughed good-naturedly at her reaction.

"I don't know. I don't have any reasons to go back there." Anansi shrugged uncaringly. "Not when I know Ishtar won't be there either."

_Will you continue to look after the boy? _Morgan le Fay asked with her wraith-like voice. Anansi gave her a knowing smile.

"That goes without saying."

* * *

"Born as a human, die as a human, huh?" Kuroro said randomly with soft amusement upon recalling the little chat they had with Lucian before they finally departed from Ryuusei-gai.

Currently, they were traversing yet another forest as they made their way to the lair of Deifri, the wild Ifrit, with Scheherazade as their guide. The enigmatic woman talked rarely and even when she did, her words were direct and somewhat distant despite her sing-song voice, as if she had no wish to associate herself with them more than she already did. It suited them just fine, though.

"What? Got a problem with that?" She asked snappily. Her mood had plummeted for the worst when she found that her backpack was as good as gone forever, and it had taken _almost _all efforts on her part _and_ Kuroro's part to prevent her from mauling the eyebrow-less man into chunks of meat. "And it's not like _you_ don't agree with it. After all—"

"We are not pure humans by now, you know that." Kuroro continued while ignoring Kurapika's barrelling words.

His words struck Kurapika hard and she was left dumbfounded, but upon realising the truth in his words, she wisely shut her mouth to save her face. It was no use arguing over it—that was an old issue anyway.

"But you can still consider yourself humans." Scheherazade suddenly piped in with her ever carefree tone. Despite her easygoingness, she usually kept to herself—she had even worse I-keep-my-counsel-to-myself attitude than Kuroro initially had. Of course by now Kuroro was much more open to Kurapika, if not too much at ease around her.

Both Kurapika and Kuroro looked at her with a dubious look on their face. Regardless her being an acquaintance to Isthar, she was still a shady figure at most. No matter what, she was the type of people whom you felt you could never fully trust. She gave them a lopsided smirk and snorted softly.

"Have you never paid attention to those rings of yours given by Ishtar since the beginning? They are not for decorations, you know. If the boy here," she gestured at Kuroro with a curt nod of her pretty head, "is not considered a human, the rings ought to be glowing all the time. He has received Ishtar's blood since childhood, after all."

_That makes sense,_ Kurapika thought as she gazed at her glowing ring—the sign that there was at least one mythical creature around them.

"What are you then?" she asked.

Scheherazade balanced her body on one foot and folded her arms across her chest. "Humanoid I may appear, but I am not a human. I am a creature that lives as long as there are tales to be told. I'm a tale-weaver and a story-teller of the world, so to say."

"So you will continue to exist as long as mankind exists." Kuroro concluded.

She gave Kuroro a knowing grin. "Touché."

* * *

When nightfall came, they stopped to make a camp and rested their sore feet after walking incessantly for the whole day. Conveniently, the spot they choose was close to the stream so it was easier for them to do any cleanings or other chores that required water. Dusk was falling and everything was going along nicely. They had had their dinner and were settling down to spend the night there. Until the dead of midnight, however, Kurapika could not find solace in her sleep.

She kept tossing around, unable to get even a wink of sleep.

_Something is bothering you._ That was more like a question than a statement from Una.

Kurapika craned her head and saw the Unicorn gazing at her with her beady, curious eyes. She sat up and leaned towards Una to pat her cheek lightly. Una then noticed the relatively new scars on her palms.

_You have scars._

"Mmhmm." She nodded absentmindedly.

_You could have healed it. Why not?_

"I don't want to. Let this be a reminder on how weak I really am." Kurapika answered with an uncaring shrug, as if that really did not matter much.

Una gave her a look that said "I don't know what on Earth are you talking about. Mind enlightening me a bit?" So Kurapika told her briefly of what had happened during the 'Scarlet Tears' incident back then. Of course she explained the original baleful relationship between her and Kuroro that stemmed from the massacre of her tribe by his order.

"As much as I want to deny it," Kurapika concluded at the end of her story, "it's still true that he is beyond my league. Painfully so. Trying to kill him is perhaps as futile as trying to catch the wind with bare hands."

_It is very unusual of you of being pessimistic, _Una commented softly.

Kurapika gave her a small smile. "Call this realistic. I've learned my lessons, and enough is enough." She said as she put up her hands against the dark background of the night sky and stared at the jagged scar on her palm; the reminder of her weakness.

"I may as well invest my time and efforts in something more productive and healthy," she added as an afterthought.

A heartfelt smile graced the Unicorn's face. _And that will be?_

"I don't know." Kurapika gave a soft chuckle. "I guess it is one of those we'll-see-when-the-time-comes situations."

Kurapika then found herself sighing in contentment. It was surprisingly relieving; to finally be able to verbally conclude her long stretched thoughts and pondering. It was as if she had finally accepted the fact that she had to come to terms with her pasts and started to move on with her life.

"Thank you, Una, for listening to my blabbering." Kurapika said softly as she snuggled into the warmth of her flank.

Una only nudged her shoulder lightly with the tip of her nose, signing that she was more than happy to be of any help.

"What about you? Do you have anything you want to let out?"

Kurapika turned to look at Una, and the Unicorn gazed at her with meaningful, glassy eyes. To Kurapika, Una seemed like she was holding back tears.

"You do, don't you?" She asked with unmasked concerns.

_About Una's history…_

Kurapika's eyes softened and she shifted to fully face the Unicorn's face while still leaning against her flank.

_Una was captured by humans as a foal but old kind Chiron saved Una. My folks abandoned Una because by being among humans has sullied my purity in their eyes,_ Una explained gloomily.

"What—that's ridiculous!" Kurapika exclaimed as softly as she could with her eyes wide in shock.

_It's okay. That's just one of those old traditions that some tribes have. Remember that some tribes even practice cannibalism?_ The Unicorn said soothingly. _But Una is content with the two of you, _the Unicorn quickly said as she nuzzled her nose to Kurapika.

Kurapika's anger quickly mellowed down and she could only sigh in defeat. Una had accepted her fate and move on. Kurapika took a stealth glance at the still form of sleeping Kuroro.

_Has he moved on, too? After Isthar's death, he seems quite broken…_Kurapika mused.

Little did she know that Kuroro was still haunted by his failure to comply with Isthar's last wish—to address her as 'Mother'.

* * *

It was normal for people to dream or to have nightmares. Kuroro, however, was never considered as a normal person. He himself never considered himself anywhere near normal, and he was somewhat proud of it. Yet, here he found himself having one peculiar dream.

He was standing in the darkness—the typical setting for a standard nightmare. He was not bothered about it. He was more preoccupied by what—or rather who—he was confronting.

"Ishtar…" His whisper sounded so loud and crystal clear in the deafening silence of the dark void world.

The ghost of his late surrogate mother smiled as kindly and warmly as she would ever do in her time among the living. Though, this time her smile was tinted with the colour of sorrow and regret.

_Even in my death, you still refuse to call me Mother, Kuroro?_

Kuroro could only look away. He could not look at Ishtar in the eyes, not when he had failed to comply with her dying wish—and it was such a simple wish. Truthfully, he felt ashamed. All his life, he had never known a concept of shame. Everything was done for his self interest and for the interest of both Ryuusei-gai and the Genei Ryodan. He had never really considered other people's situation, and he most of the time got what he wanted.

This attitude started to change ever since he was cursed to travel with a certain blonde Kuruta girl, though.

The wraith of Ishtar floated eerily in the darkness, her entire being glimmering dimly like a flickering candle in the wind.

_Kuroro…_

The young man looked up at her, only to be confronted by the last thing he ever wanted to see of his surrogate mother. She was disintegrating into fine grains of sands, much like the moment she had died in his arms. That expression she had, that attire, even the blood—which had somehow materialised all the sudden—was the exact replica of that moment.

_Kuroro…_

Out of instinct, Kuroro leapt and tried to grab hold of Ishtar but he only managed to grasp thin air and a few grains of what had been the ghost of Ishtar. When he opened his palm, those minute grains simply vaporised into nothingness. Yet, her voice still lingered to mercilessly haunt him.

_My boy…_

If given the choice, Kuroro rather prefer to be haunted by a bloody nightmare with murders and all other things he was used to see in real life. If given the choice, he would rather not sleep than to be forced to relive the dying moment of Ishtar—where he had failed to fulfil her simple dying wish. It only reminded him of his only failure in his lifetime.

He would rather not sleep than to see this nightmare.

* * *

His eyes snapped open as an eerie howl woke him from his dream—or nightmare—and he was somewhat thankful for that. His eyes were boring into the darkness of the canopy of the trees above him, looking confused and lost.

"Kuroro?" came Kurapika's voice latched with uncertainty and puzzlement.

He glanced around and found her staring at him while still snuggling close to Una, though the Unicorn was already asleep. The girl looked like she was just about to fall asleep. The wind was cold, uncannily so with a spectral air thick in it. Kuroro willed his hearings to sharpen and he could hear those howls more clearly. They were nowhere near the howls of wolves; they sounded more like the wails of women, and they were coming from the direction of the stream.

"Do you hear it?" He asked softly, so as not to disturb too much of the quietness of the night.

Kurapika frowned.

"Hear what?"

"The wails."

Curious, Kurapika sat up and tried to locate to the so-called wails. She heard nothing except for the dry sound of the night breeze. She looked at Kuroro in complete bewilderment and shook her head slowly. This time it was Kuroro who frowned; how could she not hear it, while it was so crystal-clear? Against his better judgement, Kuroro carefully got up and started walking to the direction of the stream.

"Where are you going?" Kurapika asked in a tight whisper.

"The sounds come from the stream." He informed her as he continued walking quietly.

Knowing that the man would not stop until his curiosity was fulfilled, Kurapika scrambled to her feet and followed him. In silence they traversed the forest ground until they reached the outskirt of the forest that faced the stream. And then, they saw it.

The Banshee.

"What the—" Kurapika cringed when her eyes landed on the queer creature.

The creature looked like an ancient woman with dishevelled, thin air. They could almost see the creature's pale scalp beneath the strands of gray long hair. The woman wailed pitifully, her high-pitched screech echoing in the dead of the night, as she constantly tried to scrub bloody stains from the piece of rag she was holding to. She continued to scrub and howl, but when the nostrils of her snake-like nose flared, she stopped abruptly and turned exactly towards their direction.

Her pendulum-like breasts swung from her chest loosely, and she only had one front tooth left. Her face looked very skeletal as if she was literally only skin and bone. Her skin was ashen grey with black specks of rotting flesh. Kurapika by then had already had her breath virtually taken away from her. She backed away and did not even flinch when her back was pressed against Kuroro's chest. If anything, she felt safer that way.

"Banshee." Kuroro whispered in disbelief.

_Why do we have to encounter a Banshee just tonight of all nights? _Kuroro felt like cursing but held back his tongue.

"No way..." Kurapika muttered under her breath. She looked up to stare at Kuroro's pale face.

Banshee was something that both would like to avoid at all cost in their entire life. Sighting of Banshee could only spell DOOM and DISASTER, if not DEATH at the worst case. Usually Banshee appeared when a loved one was going to die soon. Worse still, it was Kuroro who had heard the Banshee. It could only mean one thing: Kuroro was the receiving end of the Banshee's bad omen.

Kuroro looked down to meet with her stare with his knowing one. From his expression, she knew that he had been thinking the same thing as she had. Kurapika bit her lower lip in nervousness, while Kuroro's lips were curled into a grim smile. One thought occur in her mind:

_He's going to die._

_

* * *

_

As foretold by Scheherazade, the Ifrit who answered to the name Deifri was one hell of a wild spirit. The moment they took a step near his dwelling—which was approximately several hundred metres away from the actual dwelling—the Ifrit made its dramatic appearance.

With a loud explosion and several nasty 'firecrackers' the Ifrit showed his true form. He was a fire-covered giant of about three metres of height with bulging muscles and sharply defined features on his bald head. He folded his arms arrogantly across his broad chest and tilted his chin high with a smug expression etched on his stony face. The first thing that came to Kurapika's mind was that she wanted to wipe that smug expression off his face—she had a 'thing' for smug expression, you see.

_Now, now, why is it that there are some cockroaches prowling around my dwelling, eh?_ He demanded with booming voice, trying to intimidate them at the same time.

Scheherazade only harrumphed and folded her arms defiantly across her chest, ignoring the threatening voice while giving the genie a dirty look.

"They are here to ask for your assistance—"

_Wench, you know damn well as hell that I offer no help to such…_he eyed the mortals with disgust clear on his face, _weaklings. If anything, I prefer squashing them to death!_

"I thought so." The woman only shrugged and turned to the two. "Well, he's all yours."

She gave them her characteristic crooked smile, before heading toward a certain tree and took a spectator seat under its shade. She then leaned against the fat tree and looked at the three of them, waiting for the game to start.

_Now, let's see how I deal with you two worms…_Deifri narrowed his eyes into two dangerous slits, before he suddenly sent a devastating blow to Kurapika—supposedly.

Before he knew it, his cheek received the hardest, nastiest kick he had ever received after such a long time of 'peace'. Deifri stumbled but he quickly recovered his stance, only to get an uppercut. Kurapika landed on the ground, but she quickly flapped her slightly burned hand and leg—those two that she had used to abuse the Ifrit.

"That is real fire." She hissed as she tried to alleviate the throbbing sensation of her seared skin.

"You are really reckless." Kuroro snorted upon seeing Kurapika's quick yet not-so-thoughtful attack.

"Well, sir, why don't you take your turn?" Kurapika snapped at him, wanting to finish it quickly.

They were told earlier that if verbal persuasion was not effective, then they just needed to pound the Ifrit hard enough until he succumbed to their wish. Scheherazade had also supplied one generous fact of this particular Ifrit: he mastered both fire and ice elements.

As if trying to prove that information, the Ifrit arched his back and the next second he was already vomiting blades of diamond-hard ice blades towards them. Kuroro opened his Skill Hunter book and used his Flamethrower skill. He had intended to melt down those ice blades, but the effect was almost nonexistent. Luckily they managed to avoid being skewered by those blades in the nick of time.

"Well?" Kurapika shot him a questioning stare.

"I'll say that we are in trouble," replied Kuroro with grim smile.

And trouble indeed they were in—a deep shit, even. They tried all means of damaging the Ifrit, but the blasted spirit seemed impervious to all kind of attacks. Scheherazade, meanwhile, was being a totally useless observer as she watched from the sideline. Even Kurapika's Nen Chain was impuissant against the Ifrit. The Ifrit, on the other hand, was enjoying every bit of moment as he scorched them with his fire, or showering them with his ice barrage. He had just received new toys!

Scheherazade snorted in dry amusement.

"The boy still hasn't figured out how to master the Solomon Ring, huh?" She twirled her curly hair absentmindedly.

_Unless he masters it, they have no chance of beating that Ifrit,_ she thought as she glanced to the clear sky; it was oblivious to the vicious battle that was waged down there on the surface of the Earth. _Ishtar, what were you thinking about? Giving him the Solomon Ring indirectly when you didn't even tell him how to master it. You didn't even leave a hint._

Scheherazade only shrugged and continued watching the hopeless battle. If Ishtar had another plan in mind, then so be it. She was just a Scheherazade, nothing more. She had no right to judge a fallen Goddess's plan for her surrogate son. Scheherazade had done her duty, and that was all. Now while she was free to go, she knew that something was bound to happen—and she was anticipating it to happen soon enough.

The battle, as Scheherazade had predicted, did not last too long. With one clean sweep, Deifri slammed Kuroro to the ground harshly, making him to cough out some thick deep blood—the tell-tale sign of internal damage. His right shoulder was smoking as he failed to completely evade a shot of fireball from the Ifrit. Not to mention other cuts all over his body that he got from the ice barrage. Kurapika was not in any better condition than he was. The tip of her now long hair was singed and her leg suffered from a mild burn, while one of her arms was entirely covered in blue-black-purple bruises.

Kurapika tried to lock the Ifrit's movements by wrapping her chain around his arms, but the plan backfired as the Ifrit—not forgetting his trademark evil grin—froze her chains all the way to her hands. She was practically conjoined with Deifri by the means of her own chains. With one satisfied smirk, Deifri then gathered his cold energy above his open palm. Kuroro then realised what the Ifrit was going to do.

"Kurapika, get away!" he shouted at her as he scrambled to his legs.

"I can't!" Kurapika was screaming then.

She tried to wrench her hand from the icy grip of Deifri's ice, but it was to no avail. She could only watch in horror as a spear of jagged ice was formed above the Ifrit's open palm and when the spear was shot to her direction. Not losing his sense and agility despite the heavy internal damage he was suffering from, Kuroro jumped and decided to shatter Kurapika's frozen Nen chains. It was better to have her Nen fragmented a bit than to lose her.

Because of the impact of the shattered Nen, Kurapika doubled up and she missed the ice spear by a hair breadth. She writhed in agony and tried to gather her Nen as quickly as possible. Kuroro looked at her in slight relief upon seeing that she had not been skewered by the ice spear yet.

_Where are you looking at, boy?_ Deifri's fiery voice shook him from his relief and when he turned around to face him, it was too late.

Kurapika wheezed and panted loudly. She grunted as she tried to materialise her Nen chains again. It was excruciatingly hard and painful. She gritted her teeth as she looked up, ready to yell at Kuroro for doing such reckless acts. When she looked up, however, all her anger evaporated.

With her own eyes, she saw another ice spear ripping through Kuroro's left chest, shredding his heart into unrecognisable bits.

She only had time to gasp soundlessly as the spear pierced through his chest, leaving a hideous hole on Kuroro's body. The look on his face was that of pure shock and no fear. Apparently, he did not have time to let fear instilled its presence in his heart before his heart was cruelly torn apart.

The impact was so strong that Kuroro's feet were taken off the ground. There were blood everywhere, gushing out freely from the gruesome wound on his chest. The thick, rich scent of fresh blood filled the air and assaulted Kurapika's sense of smell. It was a scent that she came to greatly abhor over the years of her bloody life.

And then, she felt it—the absence of her own heartbeats.

Deifri's evil laughter rang like a background sound in her dull mind as she helplessly succumbed into infinite darkness. The last thing she remembered was Hassamunnin's words from long time ago:

_When one dies, so does the other…_

The last thing that Kuroro heard before darkness consumed him, however, was another familiar female voice:

_It's been a while, Kuroro…_

_

* * *

_

_**Author's Note:**__ I was getting lost about Scheherazade's personality. She is aloof but cheerful. I think so far she's the one with most difficult and unpredictable character, even for me. And I actually think my Kuroro also doesn't really have a definite personality; kind of random and fickle. It's about time that Kuroro becomes the one at the receiving end of a disaster (if you notice, previously it's always Kurapika) I know this chapter isn't as wonderful as the previous one, but well…Life has its ups and downs, and so do I as a writer. And for those who actually requested me to update twice a week, come on, you're killing me…_

_**Next: **__The bad omen of Banshee came true, Kuroro died in the hands of the Ifrit! And apparently, he dragged Kurapika along in his death. What would become of the two? And whose voice did Kuroro heard the moment he was plunged into death? Was it the voice of hope, or that of a living nightmare?_


	26. Chapter 26: Sleepless Night

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own HunterxHunter_

_**Story so far: **__The Ifrit managed to kill Kuroro, consequentially killing Kurapika as well. What would become of them?_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 26**

_**SLEEPLESS NIGHT**_

_**

* * *

**_

When he came back to his senses, he found himself floating on his back in cold, endless darkness. He remembered his heart getting skewered by Deifri's ice spear, so he was supposed to be dead. He glanced around the empty darkness.

_Is this afterlife? _He pondered with dry humour. _If it is, then it is astoundingly dull._

"Now, now, who says that you are dead for good?" came an irritatingly familiar voice.

Tilting his head upwards, he saw Phoenix approaching him up-side down in her usual regal gait. Or rather, he was seeing her up-side down. With a twist of his shoulders, Kuroro manoeuvred himself so that he stood on the invisible ground of the darkness, at the same level as the Phoenix was standing. He gave her a cold, questioning stare.

"Don't give me that look." She scowled unhappily. "I'm here to save your sorry behind so be a good boy and listen to what I have to say first."

Kuroro raised an eyebrow. It seemed that the Lady in Red was not in the most pleasant mood. With an annoyed huff, Phoenix folded her arms across her chest.

"Remember the time in the cave when I tried to fry you guys with my fire?"

"I certainly do." He answered with flat voice.

"Well, thanks to that, now you are going to come back to life soon."

Kuroro gave her a subtle confused look.

"When my Phoenix Fire failed to incinerate you to death, it granted you the ability to cheat death once since you were deemed worthy. To put it simply, you are coming back to life."

She watched as Kuroro digested the explanation, which did not take long at all.

"However, you better act fast, otherwise the girl may die the second time. When that hap—"

"What do you mean 'fast'?" Kuroro interrupted before she could finish her sentence.

At first her face turned red in anger for being rudely interrupted, but upon realising the jumbled up order of her explanation, she cooled her temper. With a swipe of her arm, a hologram-like screen appeared in the infinite darkness, showing the scene in the real world.

Kuroro saw his own body bathing in the dark pool of his own blood. Not far from his dead body was Kurapika's body, which was as motionless and lifeless as his was. It was unnervingly odd since he felt a rush of anxiety when he saw her dead body but he felt nothing when he saw his own corpse.

The Ifrit was laughing gleefully at their silly defeat and then with a thrust of his fiery arm towards the heaven, and explosion erupted from the ground that held both Kuroro's and Kurapika's body. When the dusts settled down back to the earth, there was a pillar of ice standing proudly and within its confinement were their dead bodies.

"I don't know what that shitty excuse of an Ifrit is thinking about, but guess he's planning to make fun of your corpses. Maybe to show the world that anyone who dare to oppose him will end up the same way." Phoenix snorted in unconcealed disgust. "Such a low taste."

Ignoring Phoenix's crude and vulgar remarks, Kuroro observed the scenery. Something was out of the picture. Upon closer inspection, he realised that the missing piece was the fact that the bloody hole on his chest had disappeared, revealing only smooth blood-stained skin under the tattered shirt.

"The moment you are revived, she'll be revived as well. The problem is the immediate effect of the ice pillar may kill her off. It ain't no ordinary ice, y'know. She's already out cold, and if you can't wake her up, she'll sleep forever because of the extreme temperature. My fire can't warm her since it doesn't belong to your material world."

Without needing her to go on to great lengths explaining the details, Kuroro understood it. That was why people were not allowed to sleep when they were in an extremely cold environment. They might die in their sleep.

"If that happens, there'll be no saving her. She doesn't have the protection of The Solomon Ring. That blasted ring only protects its rightful master, unless ordered otherwise. It's a shame that you don't know how to utilize its boundless potential yet, seeing that Ishtar sacrificed her life in order to pass down that ring to you."

The mention of Ishtar's name slapped him back into the reality of life. He turned to gaze into Phoenix's feral golden eyes, seeking a truth in it.

"She knew this would happen."

"'Coz I told her, dimwit." Phoenix harrumphed. "You know she isn't able to foresee the future, only seeing the truth of things presented before her eyes."

Phoenix might be the first person on the face of the Earth ever calling him a 'dimwit'.

"I gotta admit that she's smart enough to deduce the prospect of things, though." She muttered and shrugged. "Anyway…"

With another swipe of her arm, Kuroro was engulfed in her golden red fire. He looked around and noticed that the woman had disappeared. Her voice was only a distant whisper among the loud crackling of the mystical fire.

_Hurry up, Kuroro… The clock is ticking away…_

He could literally sense her broad grin.

_Time waits for no one…_

_

* * *

_

Deifri was in one of his most jaunty mood of the decade. It had been such a long time since the last time he killed someone. He was practically dancing himself silly, circling the ice pillar that contained his latest kills. From distance, Scheherazade only observed with keen eyes.

_Scheherazade!_ The Ifrit called out to her with triumphant smirk plastered on his stony face._ These people you brought prove to be not much of a sport to me._

"Don't be so full of yourself yet, Deifri. If I were you, I won't be celebrating yet. The real show has just begun," she said cheerfully as she watched with excitement the kindling sparks inside the ice pillar.

The Ifrit only had the time to shoot her a puzzled look when suddenly the ice pillar shattered into thousands of splinters as if an explosive had just blown from inside. Two bodies bathed in golden fire stumbled out of the pillar unto the hard ground. A suppressed groan escaped Kuroro's lips as he tried to roll into a more comfortable position.

_WHAT? _The Ifrit roared in disbelief. He swore that he had pierced that man's heart so why was that cockroach of a human still alive and well? And what in the freaking seventh hell was that otherworldly fire that engulfed him and the girl?

_Ishtar sacrificed her life in order to pass down that ring to you._ That was what Phoenix had told him in that dark limbo before he was whisked back into life by her Fire. Kuroro took out the Solomon Ring from his pocket and fingered it delicately.

_If I can't do anything useful with this ring in my possession, it's the same as Isthar's sacrifice wasted for nothing, _he said in his mind with resolute as he slid the ring into his middle finger, feeling the cold touch of the metal against his skin. He was going to figure out how to use the Solomon Ring—and fast—before Kurapika's life expired.

Then, miracle happened.

* * *

"_Lemegeton: Ars Goetia._" He found himself murmuring to the Solomon Ring that was glowing bright in his finger.

Springing out from the Solomon Ring in the next moment was a great demon. It was a blood-red dragon extending 30 feet long with large, red wings and blazing green eyes. Immediately, as if it was a knowledge he had known since long time ago, Kuroro recognised the name of that demon.

"Vassago, a Prince of Hell." He greeted the demon in breathless yet perfectly calm voice.

All this knowledge poured into his head without any prior stimulations or anything. It just happened—the knowledge simply entered his mind, showering him with the thorough detailed information about all 72 demons confined within the brass ring.

The dragon looked at him curiously with its great oval eyes.

_Your command, master?_ It spoke with booming deep male voice, making Deifri's voice pale in comparison.

Kuroro gestured at the Ifrit with a nod of head.

"Get him."

In less than a heartbeat, the great demon leapt from before Kuroro and charged at Deifri mercilessly. The Ifrit, which had seemed to be invincible to both Kuroro and Kurapika just a mere moment ago, now appeared to be a child's play for the dragon. It was only at Kuroro's convenient command that the demon refrained himself from tearing the Ifrit into pieces. Instead, Vassago had a foot planted on Deifri's back, pinning the poor Ifrit to the ground.

Kuroro staggered to his feet and regarded his new subject with wary eyes. It was very different from having the Spiders at his command. This demon was a force that was beyond normality even to his standard. He had to be wise and careful in choosing his words when giving orders. Faithful they might be to him; the master of the Solomon Ring, but deceitful was their purest nature. It was better be safe now than sorry later.

Scheherazade looked at him with impressed look plain on her exotic face. She had anticipated him to have his cool in check, but she had not expected him to be so fully in control of his composure.

_As expected of a man raised by Ishtar,_ she smiled approvingly.

Silently, Scheherazade rose from her seat and stalked towards where the commotion was occurring. Deifri thrashed around, trying to escape the iron grip but it was fruitless. All he obtained was harsh snarls from the dragon.

"Now you are at my mercy." Kuroro stated as-a-matter-of-factly. He regarded the Ifrit with cold obsidian eyes as he stood mightily before the squashed Ifrit despite his tattered shirt.

_So what are you gonna do? Eliminate me? _Deifri snapped rudely at him, and he was rewarded with a more ground-crushing pressure from Vassago.

"Be at ease, Ifrit. I won't kill you." Kuroro said slowly and deliberately. "But you will have to follow my rules."

_No shit._ The Ifrit spat.

"First, you are never to harm me and her…" Kuroro stopped momentarily as he reconsidered his choice of words. "…and our descendants to come. Failures will result in your immediate obliteration. Second, you are to follow whatever orders I command you. You are to abide by these rules until the end of your existence. Understood?"

He gave the Ifrit an evil smirk.

Deifri's face scrunched up into the ugliest face ever seen by Kuroro as he tried to keep his anger in check. Throwing tantrum in the presence of a Prince of Hell and his master was the most idiotic thing ever. No, he still treasured his life despite it being a little bit more confining in the future.

_Crystal._

"I will not confine you into the ring, and so you are free to roam the world as you please." Kuroro added.

Deifri raised one sceptical eyebrow.

_That is surprisingly generous of you._

"…I know how it feels to be stripped of your freedom." He simply responded as he silently recalled the day he was under the constriction of Kurapika's Judgement Chain.

Kuroro turned to the dragon, and with one nod Vassago moved towards the sidelines but still within a range where he could leap at the Ifrit before he could harm his master. Deifri stood in his fully glory, not bothering to dust himself after being forced to kiss the dirt by the demon.

"Pledge your oath to me, sealing this contract with your soul."

Kuroro raised his hand that donned the Solomon Ring, while Deifri tore his palm with his razor-sharp claw to draw thick blood. He hung his wounded palm above the ring, and when his blood dropped upon the Seal of Solomon, the ring was set ablaze.

_I swear upon my blood— which is my life my soul—that I will abide by your rules._

There was a sizzling noise from the ring, and when the fire finally died down, the ring was intact and whole without any scorch marks. Kuroro knew by heart that the contract was sealed so the Ifrit posed no harm to him anymore. He turned to Vassago.

"You are dismissed."

With a loud roar; which had no malice in it, the great demon plunged himself into the safe haven of the ring. No traces of him were left on the material world. All was silent before it was broken by Scheherazade.

"Wonderful! Truly marvellous!" Scheherazade clapped her hands in a festive manner that it instantly made Kuroro suspicious. That woman was dangerously unpredictable.

"Looks like there is nothing more for me to teach you. Tell me, boy, did you feel like there is a massive flow of information when you first activated the ring?"

"So much of it invaded my mind that my head felt like exploding." Kuroro admitted.

"Good, then I have no more duty to attend to." She gave him one pleased smile before she turned her back to him. "Have fun with your new servant."

With that, she strolled away from the place. Kuroro watched on briefly as Scheherazade waved goodbye at him without sparing him one last glance. Then, he quickly averted his attention to his top-priority: Kurapika.

He crouched next to Kurapika's still body and to his dismay, her body was ice cold. He narrowed his eyes, the gears in his mind cranking as he tried to think of something—anything—to save her life. An idea struck him and he turned to the Ifrit, who was standing leisurely one foot away from him.

"I will give you your first order." He said sternly.

The Ifrit knelt before him with one knee on the ground. He smirked at his new master.

_Your wish is my command, sire…Though I must warn you beforehand that I cannot warm her with my fire. I'll end up roasting her instead._

Kuroro narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. Even after the contract, the Ifrit was still rude. How unnerving. Dismissing the irrelevant and trivial thoughts, he focused to the more critical of the situation.

"Bring us to the Prancing Pony Inn."

* * *

Fino closed the door behind her as quietly as possibly. When the door closed with a soft click, she leaned against it and sighed.

"Fino, dear? What's wrong?" Her father's voice jolted her from her trance.

Earlier on, they were having a peaceful and quiet day when suddenly the front door of the inn was kicked open and a young man stormed in carrying an unconscious girl in his arms. That action alone had scared the living hell out of the present guests, but he made it worse by bellowing Fino's name. Fino at first was hugely irritated by the rude guest, but upon seeing who she was dealing with, a myriad of expressions had flashed across her rather plain face. At first it was surprise, then confusion, then shock, and finally mortification. Before she knew it, she was already tending to Kurapika's dead-cold body.

"I haven't a clue, and Kuroro won't talk about it either. He only asked me to bathe Kurapika in hot water and I did just that. I don't know what happened and I don't think I want to know because Kurapika's body is not like anything I've seen, or touched in this case. It's as cold as frozen hell! It's like her body is literally chiselled out of an ice block!" Fino said with her hands flailing about her in excitement according to her story.

"And then?" The old man asked patiently.

"Well… It's not working at all. Since it isn't good to keep her in the water for too long, we have to dry her and keep her in the bed. I've put all kind of blankets and quilts and warmers above her, all the thickest ones I could find. Still, I don't think they'll help much." The girl shook her head sadly.

"Hmmm… Should I offer them advice?" Her father mused as he gazed at the door as if he was gazing at Kuroro and Kurapika.

Without waiting for Fino's response, the old man knocked on the door and waited politely.

"Come in," came Kuroro's soft voice.

The old man complied. He approached them as quietly as possible and upon seeing Kurapika's limp body—which was virtually blue in colouring—he could not help but to feel his heart shrinking. The lovely girl had been reduced to such lifeless state, it was such a pity.

"I don't know what happened, and I won't press you about it. But I think I can offer you a help on how to save her life," said the old man with revered tone.

Kuroro's head snapped to attention at the innkeeper's words. He looked at him intensely, waiting for him to spill the much needed information.

"Well, you see… There is one sure way to warm the body of a person who is close to freezing to death. It's by constant skin contact."

Kuroro looked at the old man dubiously with large eyes.

"_Bare_ skin contact?"

The old man nodded solemnly. "Warm her with your body, that's the surest and fastest way to raise her temperature."

Kuroro looked back the dying Kuruta. His expression was as blank as it could get. The innkeeper observed him in silence, before finally he put a kind hand on his shoulder.

"But I won't push it to you, lad. I don't know what your relationship with the girl is, and I won't make assumptions here so I understand if you are unsure on committing such…act. But think it over. Her life depends on you."

He gave Kuroro one gentle squeeze on the shoulder to encourage him and he left the young man to his peace quietly, closing the door behind him soundlessly. Kuroro gazed at Kurapika's face; her skin was so white it was almost blue, her lips were already turning bluish. He frowned to himself.

_What am I hesitating about? _He scolded himself before he quickly got to his feet. _I told her that I'm not going to let her die, and I am going to keep my words. _

Swiftly he undressed himself, save only for his undergarments, and undressed Kurapika as well, leaving only her undergarments on herself. Under normal circumstances, this scene was something impossible to behold in any lifetimes he might have. There was no helping it. What was decency when it came to life-or-death matter?

Quietly he slipped beneath the mountains of blankets that Fino had supplied for them, and pressed his body against her. He shuddered at the first contact with her icy skin—it was as if he was hugging a Kurapika-shaped ice block. Kuroro then began rubbing Kurapika's frail back and arms, while he intertwined his legs with hers to keep them warm. He buried her head to the crook of his neck while he purposely let his warm breath brushed against her face.

All the time he did these, there was no response whatsoever from Kurapika. She only lay there, unmoving and lifeless, as if she was not capable of any senses of touch anymore. Kuroro then closed his eyes and for the first time in his 27 years of life, he prayed.

_I don't know how many and whatever Gods are out there, but I only pray_, he whispered to his mind vehemently, _that she is not going to die on me._

_

* * *

_

Hours rolled by, and Kuroro feared that as the clock ticked by, so did Kurapika's life. The coldness of her skin was still of the same frigidness, and already he was feeling so cold himself. He had not stopped stroking her skin, trying to rub some strength into her body. He breathed to her ears, her eyes, her neck, and even her mouth—as if he was doing a CPR. He brushed the cold strands of her golden hair, holding her tighter in his arms.

His sight then absentmindedly travelled to the window of their room, where the curtain was still drawn and he noticed that nightfall had come. It was the first time that Kuroro had ever initiatively strived to save a life instead of destroying it. He had not slept for even a wink; how could he rest when Kurapika lay almost lifeless before him, her soul able to depart from the encasement of her body anytime when he was unaware? Staying vigilant was the very least thing he could do to reassure himself that she was not dead—at least not yet.

Again, he attempted to rub some warmth into Kurapika's ice cold body. He rubbed her arms, and then her back, and then further down to her thigh, feeling the subtle curves of her body with his hands. He chuckled darkly. Not that he had any perverted thoughts—he could not even bring himself to it, considering the dire circumstances—but he could be sure that some guys might be willing to pay handsome amount of money to be in his place.

Kurapika was not bad as a girl, though she was more than qualified to be a tomboy considering her feistiness. She was pretty enough—he was never picky about girls, not that he usually cared about them anyway—and she had a decent body figure, though she was a tad bit too thin for his taste. Ishtar did lecture him about neglecting their health, seeing that both—mostly Kurapika—had lost some weights.

What he appreciated from people was not their mere appearance, but their personality and character—the inner beauty, as some poetic people might call it.

Kuroro took a quiet scrutiny at the unconscious girl in his arms; the girl who was currently lingering at the border of life and death. Kurapika could be a very difficult girl at times, but when she had to be mature, she could be exceedingly so. Not to mention her strong sense of justice and conscience. She almost always needed logical reasons for all things that she did. He, on the other hand, did not really think of any reasons when he did what he felt he needed to do.

She was a person of high moral standard and a defender of justice—so to say in a cliché manner. He was one of the most wanted criminal in the world, head of the most notorious Genei Ryodan.

She was born in a perfect family, in a perfect home and village. She was raised properly. He was born in the most dangerous slum in the world, a haven for criminals and refuges from all over the world. He was raised by a Medusa for combat.

Her life was embittered by the massacre of her tribe. He was the brain behind the massacre. She swore revenge upon him. He took on the challenge.

That was the beginning of their intertwined stories.

They were both of the Specialization Nen group. They were both of AB blood types. They both possessed intelligence above average. They were both deft in their specialised skills. They were both cunning and strategists. They both had their own groups of trusted people—he with his Genei Ryodan, she with her other friends. Despite so…

Kuroro pressed his face against the frigid crown of her golden hair. He inhaled softly, but he did not catch any whiffs of her characteristic fragrance. The cold dissolved all scents she had. He frowned at this, and he held her tighter, ignoring the dangerously intimate proximity between them.

They were both lonely.

* * *

The first thing that she detected when her senses were barely revived was the coldness. She felt giddy and virtually frozen. It felt as if she had been dipping in ice water, or perhaps in one of the pools in the South Pole. Her teeth started to clatter softly in response to the frigidness, and she involuntarily shivered. Still with her eyes closed, she tried to move to seek more warmth, and she found it very soon.

Something solid pressed itself against her bare body, transferring warmth into her heat-depraved body. She hungrily embraced that source of heat blindly, encircling her shaking arms around it desperately as if her life depended on it. Kurapika had no idea on how true it was.

Something shifted around and a weight was put on her upper torso. She felt that she was being pulled into something akin to an embrace, but she was grateful to it. Not bothering to open her eyes, Kurapika shifted her head and found a more comfortable place to rest her head. Her mind was sluggish and she could not think clearly. All she could think of was to get herself warm.

She nuzzled her head to that crook-like spot. She inhaled softly and caught the whiff of a masculine scent that was registered as familiar in her mind. With a sigh, Kurapika drifted back into safe sleep.

She was content.

* * *

When he felt her shifting in his arms, he was close to rejoicing. If she was waking up, then it could only mean that she had passed the critical moment. She would survive. In fact, the most interesting thing was that the girl was snuggling closer to him. She even hugged him back in her attempt to salvage more warmth. Her body was acting on its own according to its survival instinct.

He let her do as she wished, even as she nuzzled against the crook of his neck and settled her head there. A smile escaped his thin lips, and for the first time after a long sleepless night, he was able to relax both in mind and body. He let himself drifted to the much needed slumber after knowing that the Kuruta girl would survive.

* * *

Previously, it had only been her sense of touch that was somewhat revived. This time, when she was waking up, all her five senses were more alert and fully functioning. The first thing she noticed was the familiar warmth that she had vaguely remembered craving for. The next thing was the familiar masculine smell.

_Masculine?_ She repeated to herself in mild alarm.

Her ears caught the soft, low breathing of someone—a man—who was sleeping very, very, extremely close to her. She had not dared open her eyes.

_No, no, no…_ She chanted to herself silently.

Gingerly and carefully, she utilised her arms to find out who was sleeping next to her. Her fingers traced surprisingly smooth skin, yet she could feel the firm, finely defined muscles beneath it. Her hand started from just above his waist and it travelled upwards. She stopped when her finger traced a portion of the back with rough skin on it. Feeling the texture, she knew it was a broad scar, and most likely located behind his stomach.

_A scar around the stomach._

Something clicked in her mind. She had seen it before, and was told _and_ shown on how he acquired that scar. Kurapika shuddered involuntarily.

She knew who the man was.

Very belatedly, she realised that her body was pressed tightly close to _his_ body. She could feel _his_ legs intertwined with hers, she could feel _his_ arms draped across her upper torso. She could feel _his_ chest—and the rise and low of it as _he_ breathed—against her chest. Much to her horror, she realised that she was naked—safe only for her undergarments. Most likely, _he_ was in the same state as she was.

Not even bothering to open her eyes to verify her suspicion—it was almost unnecessary to verify—she pushed him away and screamed.

Or at least that was her intention, because she ended up making a pathetic squeak—she sounded more like a terrified mouse than anything. Her startled cry and rough shove jolted Kuroro awake from his sleep and his eyes sprung open. His surprised-filled coal-black eyes found their way to meet with Kurapika's panic-filled ocean blue eyes. Seeing that she was practically naked, Kurapika quickly grabbed as much of the blankets as her arms could manage to cover her bare skin. Self-consciously and aghast, she curled her body protectively to hide herself, making her look more frail and small than ever.

At first he had been shocked out of his life, but upon realizing that the Kuruta girl had gained enough energy to actually shove him away in her frenzied reaction to finding herself more-than-half-naked in bed with him, he relaxed. He took more time observing her.

Her body was shaking very badly, but both of them knew that it was not out of fear. She had never feared him in any possible circumstance. This one was no exception. She was surprised, yes. She was shocked and panicked, yes. She was afraid of him, no. Somehow, she had that trust in him, odd as it seemed. She began rubbing her hands against her upper arms in order to induce more warmth into her body.

"Kurapika, you are cold." He said as-a-matter-of-factly while reaching out at her with one hand. "Come here."

His voice was soft and gentle, yet there was a tinge of tiredness in it. Kurapika looked at him dubiously, gripping the blanket with her shaky hands. Her eyes spoke volume: _what in the deuce happened that we end up in this blasted compromising situation?_

Kuroro wearily told him of the Ifrit and the Solomon Ring, saving the details for much later. Kurapika's eyes spoke again: _Is this really necessary?_

"I don't want to risk losing you just because of our silly pride. That will be ridiculous." He said sternly while waving off his hand impatiently.

Kuroro was so exhausted both in mind and body that he did not care to reprocess his words anymore. He did not care of what implication his words would bring about; he was just concerned about getting a particular girl safe from cold death. Kurapika forced herself to speak, but her words came out hoarse and crackling from lack of use and moisture.

"But—"

"Kurapika, if I want to do _something_ to you, I would have done _it_ hours ago when you are completely out." Kuroro said with exasperated voice.

The said girl blushed furiously, feeling the heat on her cold cheeks. Her mouth hang agape and she stared at the man with utter disbelief—because the man had actually not sexually harassed her—and embarrassment—because she knew that he was right. If it had been any other men, she would have been done for ages ago. Kuroro raised an eyebrow upon seeing her awkward reaction, but smiled to himself then.

"Come here, Kurapika." Kuroro said and reached out to her again.

This time, Kurapika complied as he took her arms and pulled her closer. After all, she was _dying_ for more warmth. She meekly let him tuck her under his chin, but she made sure that her arms were between her chest and his chest. Kuroro did not bother about this and he merely enveloped her smaller form in his arms.

Kurapika inhaled quietly, and she took a good intake of Kuroro's scent. It had a mild masculine whiff in it and while Kurapika had never deliberately studied male's scents before, she was quite sure that this particular scent brought some sense of security with it—it felt as if she belonged there.

If she was to compare with other males she knew, the difference was there. Leorio had always put on cologne all the time, so she never knew about his true scent—not that she bothered, though. Killua and Gon, they were still barely out of their childhood and hardly in their teenage, and so she was quite sure that they still smelled like children at best. Again, not that she ever took special note of it.

Letting herself to be enveloped by the already familiar scent, Kurapika could only surrender herself in Kuroro's embrace and relaxed herself.

Suddenly, the person whom she had pledged her everlasting hatred to several months ago became someone whom she relied on most.

…_you can at least rely on me. After all, I'm not your friend, _was what he had said. How true it was. He was never her friend. He was…something more.

* * *

Shalnark looked around the tidy inn with interest. His Danchou had particularly instructed him to go to the Prancing Pony Inn and waited for him there. Curiously, just as he had taken a seat in one random table, a young girl about the Kuruta's age approached him with a huge grin plastered on her face. Her ponytail hair bounced behind her head, mimicking her jovial attitude.

"Are you, by any chance, looking for Kuroro?"

Truthfully, he had been flabbergasted to hear the girl mentioning his Danchou's name so casually as if she was his friend—the young Spider was not informed of her relatively new acquaintanceship with the Spider Head. He could only muster a dumb nod and stared at her with mouth agape as she bounced her way up the staircase. His jaws dropped further down as he saw her coming back with Kuroro in tow.

"Who?" was all he could ask in his stunned state.

"Fino, the innkeeper's daughter. She's the one keeping the Eyes for us."

"Ah, I see." Shalnark's cheeky grin reclaimed its place in his face, as if Kuroro's short answer explained everything crystal-clear.

Cheerfully, the sandy-brown haired youth took out a folded piece of paper and smoothed it open on the table surface. Without wasting another second, he proceeded in telling Kuroro about the black market movement concerning the Scarlet Eyes. Of course Kuroro had informed him that the bind had been dissolved and that he had regained his absolute personal-space freedom. Shalnark noted it, and had not been surprised to hear that the Spider Head was resuming the search of the Scarlet Eyes.

After all, Kuroro Lucifer was known to be a man of his words. The fact that it concerned a certain blonde Kuruta was an added incentive—or bane in Nobunaga's dictionary.

"I'm perfectly sure that there will be no problems regarding the Eyes, as long as you—" he paused for a couple of millisecond, before continuing, "keep tabs on them and keep me informed."

If Kuroro had a pair of cat or dog ears, they would have perked up sharply in attention when he paused in his mid-sentence. Shalnark noticed the odd gesture—that rarely happened.

"Danchou, did something happen?"

"She's waking up."

Shalnark looked closely at Kuroro's face.

"Kurapika?" He asked slowly.

Kuroro nodded. "She's been out for two whole days. It's about time that she wakes up." He said with an uncaring shrug—or a supposedly uncaring one.

Shalnark shifted in his seat and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and looking at Kuroro with critical eyes. Kuroro noted this gesture and looked at the Spider with quizzical stare. It was not often that his subject would deliberately set a questioning gesture like that.

"Danchou, what are you going to do after _this_?" They sandy-brown haired young man asked softly while putting an index finger at the piece of paper laid bare on the table—the Scarlet Eyes location list.

"Leave her alone. And she will leave us alone as well." Kuroro's answer came immediately and automatically, like a rehearsed answer.

"_Peace at last!"_ might be the kind of response that Kuroro had anticipated from Shalnark, but that thought scarcely crossed his mind.

"Are you sure, Danchou?"

Kuroro looked up and gave him a hard gaze. Shalnark shrunk a bit upon receiving that look.

"Your point is?"

"Actually, me and some of us (_notably Machi_, he mentally added) have noticed your…" Shalnark rolled his tongue as he searched for the suitable word, "…fondness towards the Kuruta. I doubt that it will be easy for you to simply leave her alone."

"What I feel have no bearing on what is to be done for the best interests of everyone involved." He firmly stated and with a dismissing tone in his voice.

_That selflessness again…_Shalnark noted silently, as he recognised Kuroro's refusal to further discuss that issue.

One of the reasons why he decided to join the Genei Ryodan years back was because he was attracted to Kuroro Lucifer's selflessness and his devotion for Genei Ryodan and the Ryuusei-gai.

_This is the first time he has ever asked a Spider's assistance in his personal issues._ Shalnark paused in his train of thoughts. _Then again, he'll simply counter that this is for the Ryodan's best interest—to make sure that the chain assassin won't disturb us again. _

He observed his Danchou as stealthily as he could when Kuroro was preoccupied with telling Fino that Kurapika was already up and asking the innkeeper's daughter to tend to the Kuruta. All his actions that he did for the Kuruta girl seemed to be sincere and heart-felt.

_I don't know anymore which one is the truth. Personal issues or Ryodan's interest?_ The young Spider pondered.

When he caught the extremely miss-able soft light subtly lighting Kuroro's abysmal dark eyes the moment he saw Kurapika appearing at the foot of the staircase, Shalnark found his answer.

_Personal issues, then._

_

* * *

_

The Kuruta girl had immediately approached them when she spotted them among the thin crowd in the inn's hall.

Kurapika stood by his side silently, while he glanced up and studied her facial features. They remained that way without exchanging a single word. She was not so pale anymore, at least now there were some depths on her face, not as white as a blank piece of paper. He could tell from the way she had walked earlier that her muscles were still slightly atrophied from the side-effect of the extreme cold. He knew that some stretches and walks were in order for her.

Kuroro reached out with one hand and cupped her cheek lightly in his hand. He could feel some warmth in it. Instead of flinching away from his touch as she would normally do, Kurapka leaned towards his touch, relishing the warmth of his hand. Previously, his touch had been very cold and lifeless—passionless. This time, she knew not whether it was her very low body temperature or Kuroro's own warmer attitude towards her, but Kuroro's touch seemed very warm and secure.

A shade of peace took its place in Kurapika's oceanic blue eyes, and Shalnark; being the keen observer he had always been, did not miss that. Inwardly, he smiled triumphantly to himself. If Nobunaga was to see it, by then he would have been on the floor with white froth spilling from his mouth.

"Is Fino coming with you?" He finally asked.

As if answering his question, Fino bounced her way towards Kurapika and grabbed her arms gently—she knew that the Kuruta girl was still very weak and withered. She had been told of the incident by Kuroro after the first night Kurapika had woken up, and she had been so horror-stricken she would have cried her eyes out for Kurapika had he not informed her that Kurapika was already recovering.

"I'll be with her, don't worry!" She exclaimed jovially, excited with the idea of taking a stroll with Kurapika. It was no secret that the country girl admired Kurapika very much.

After receiving his nod of approval and permission, the two girls made their ways to the inn entrance and disappeared behind the door. Shalnark still had his eyes glued on the door even after several seconds had passed.

"She's such a nice girl." He remarked.

"You have your chance. Fino is still single, so far I know." Kuroro chuckled amusedly at the sandy-brown haired man before him.

"Danchou!" His tone was screaming rebuttal, but a blush inevitably coloured his cheeks with generous shade of red. "I'm not thinking anything about her."

"Denial stage." Kuroro nodded knowingly, a mischievous smirk gracing his visage.

"A, an, an, anyway!" Shalnark deliberately cleared his throat as he tried to change the subject. "I heard from others that the Mammon is on the move."

All hints of playfulness disappeared from Kuroro's face when he heard of Shalnark's information, though he kept his face straight and blank. He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly upon the mention of 'the Mammon'. He straightened up and the air around him turned serious all of the sudden.

"What are they up to?"

"We still don't know yet. The others are searching into it."

"Keep me informed about their activities." He said sternly, like a general to his troop.

"Roger that."

* * *

"Have you heard of the Mammon?" was the first thing he asked her when she was back in their shared bedroom from one of her daily excursion meant for light exercise with Fino.

It had been a couple of days since she was fully revived from her cold spell and she was now in the process of regaining her stamina. Her health improved by leaps and bounds, and by then she was ALMOST as good as before, only that she was more prone to cold now.

"Of course." She scoffed. "I spend most of my Hunter days before Hassamunnin incident as a blacklist hunter. I have seen it in the list of most wanted criminals. Why?"

"They self-proclaimed themselves as the Genei Ryodan's rival, and will do anything to best us in whatever business we handle."

Kurapika gave a condescending snort and began ranting away.

"Right. The first impression I got from their description is that they are just a bunch of homicidal, suicidal, psychopathic, muscle-bound, somewhat-strong Nen-users who are just trying to show-off their powers but they really don't earn any recognisable merits from their activities. Hah! I'm pretty sure that more than half of the Nen-users, mafia, and Hunter communities haven't even heard of them—except those who are in the blacklist business."

"How different are they from us in your opinion?"

"How different? Oh, _please_!" Kurapika rolled her eyes as if he had just asked the stupidest question on earth. "Do I really have to point them out?"

Kuroro gave an amused smile and leaned back in his chair. He put on leg on top of the other and clasped his hands together, resting them on his lap. His body language spoke of his eagerness to hear her possibly long speech.

"Yes."

Kurapika narrowed her eyes a tad bit unhappily.

"If I answer you, I am only doing the favour of inflating your already enormous ego."

"Humour me."

_He isn't going to let me off the hook in this, _Kurapika finally decided. She sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Well, first off, the methods they use in their activities are crude and unsophisticated; lacking all means to distinct them from any other mindless murderers. They don't seem to have any real purposes in their organization—except maybe to best your Genei Ryodan. Furthermore, it's so obvious that they are trying to make a name for themselves, seeing that they always leave an insignia of bloody 'M' wherever they operate. They have no originality."

At the end of her explanation, she clicked her tongue sharply in clear distaste as if emphasising her last point.

"So you are saying that the Ryodan is sophisticated in our methods?" Kuroro's voice was plainly of a highly amused tone.

"I don't recall saying that," she responded with offended tone. "Let me clarify: while you guys are more systematic in your actions, the Mammon's methods are more haphazard than anything else. I doubt that they have any proper protocols established in the gang."

The Genei Ryodan's trademark had always been their traceless disappearance after any missions. The missions were either bloody to sky-high scale, or very clean and swift without any evidence. No other criminal groups or individuals had achieved that kind of standard, and Kurapika knew well than anybody else that all the credits went to Kuroro Lucifer.

And that was the very same man who was sitting in a very civilised, if not exceedingly familiar, manner with her. Heck, they even literally shared a bed—no other meanings implied.

_It seems that the Gods are bored out of their mind and decide to mess around with us…_Kurapika thought in dry humour.

Kuroro stared at her for the longest of time that Kurapika started to fidget uncomfortably. She never liked being observed and scrutinised, and of all people Kuroro ought to know that best. The Spider Head leaned forward, put both his feet on the floor and rested his elbows on his laps, while his hands remained clasped.

"You know," he started, "you can say all these because of the handsome amount of time you spent with me, because you have been among us and see what is going on within the gang—because you are aware of our circumstances."

Kuroro paused to let the words sank into Kurapika's head, letting her to digest them.

"The you before Hassamunnin incident would probably rank us a low as they are." He finished casually with perfectly calm voice.

Kurapika looked at him with a look that said I-didn't-realize-that-at-all-but-now-that-you-mention-it-I-kind-of-see-it. She averted her gaze from his face to her twiddling toes. Her brows furrowed as she plunged into contemplative mode.

"I guess so…" She mumbled.

The older man got up and approached Kurapika. He stopped when he was a pace away from her. She was still looking down at her toes; suddenly they seemed to be very eye-catching. Giving away a small satisfied smile, Kuroro reached out to ruffle her golden hair gently.

"Don't look so dejected, Kurapika." He said huskily. "People are always prone to being subjective than objective when offering their opinions, especially on issues that have certain influential attributes to their personal lives. You are no exception."

"Are you?" She asked in a whispery voice after a long pause.

"No."

"In what issues?"

"You."

His answer came so forthwith and straight forward that it almost knocked her from her seat. She looked up hastily, intending to dare him to say that again to her face, but instead she found herself staring into a pair of obsidian eyes that only spoke of honesty to her. She knew that he was not lying. Still, his admittance—or confession, rather—was not something so easy to accept.

"Not the Ryodan? Not the Ryuusei-gai?"

"No."

"Not even Ishtar?" She crossed her fingers.

Kuroro gave a slight pause, before shaking his head.

"No." _Since she is dead now, _he mentally added.

She did not know whether to feel elated or dismayed by that.

"Why?"

She tried searching into his eyes for an answer.

"Do you need reasons?"

Kurapika ducked her head to escape his gaze and closed her eyes. She would be an ultimate fool…

"No."

…if she had not realized their intimate connection to each other. It might have stemmed from something utterly bloody and macabre, but nevertheless it was a need that they could not deny.

* * *

Kuroro was staring absentmindedly at the Solomon Ring and the other ring in his fingers, both mementos from Ishtar, in the solitary confinement of his bedroom when he finally glanced to the door.

"How long are you going to stand there looking like a fool?"

"How rude!"

And the door was banged open to reveal a certain lanky vampire carrying two boxes in his arms. There was a mock irritated look on his pale face as he strode surely into the room and dropped the packages onto the bed rather carelessly. Kuroro gave him a disapproving look.

"Kurapika is out, I hope?"

"Won't be back for another two hours."

"_Slava Domnului!_ (thank goodness!)" Lucian whistled in relief.

Kuroro raised a quizzical eyebrow at him.

"I don't want to see her getting into frenzied hysteria because of _these_." He motioned at the two boxes with a jerk of his head.

"Sorry to trouble you to bring them here." Kuroro chuckled and got up. He opened the boxed and inspected the two Scarlet Eyes; one complete with the head.

"Yeah, you should be sorry." Lucian humph-ed while he lay down on the bed on his stomach lazily.

After deciding that he was satisfied with the Eyes' conditions, he walked towards one corner of the room. He began fiddling with something that Lucian could not see from his position.

"_Ce faci?_ (What are you up to?)"

Ignoring him totally, Kuroro continued with his work. Soon enough, a trap door was opened, revealing a door on the ceiling into a hidden attic. Lucian gawked at it.

"Wow. From outside, this inn sure looks normal. Never thought it'll have this kind of awesome contraption."

"Fino has too much free time in her hands." He said while chuckling lightly. "She knows more other secret places in the entire town."

The two worked fast in storing the new additions of Scarlet Eyes into the hidden storage room/attic. Just when they were done and had closed the trap door, a commotion could be heard from the street. Before they could check it out themselves, the door to Kuroro's room was banged loudly. In a flash, the room was opened by Kuroro.

Before him was the innkeeper, his face deathly pale.

"What is it?" His voice was passive and disinterested.

"F, f, Fino—"

Unable to finish his sentence, the innkeeper rushed downstairs as fast as he could. Lucian and Kuroro exchanged confused look, but nonetheless they walked downstairs to see what about Fino that was bugging the old man. If anything happened, Kurapika was probably tending to her anyway. Lucian was scarcely one step out of the bedroom into the corridor of the inn when his nostrils flared and his eyes widened.

"Blood." He muttered, catching Kuroro's attention. "Lots of them."

Kuroro frowned. If Fino was injured, Kurapika could have healed her with her Holy Chain. So why…?

"_Oh, Doamne…_ (Oh, God…) These ain't hers." He gave Kuroro a horror-stricken look. "They're your _fata_'s."

They ran downstairs.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__Just a reminder, 'fata' means 'girl' here. I know that there are more vulgar words and profanities here, but I can't help it since the characters require them. It's kinda fun, anyway. Makes the story less boring…Somewhat. Next chapter will have a lot more profanities and curses. Should I rate it M for the next one?_

_**Next: **__Lucian smelled a lot of Kurapika's blood, but the innkeeper seemed worried more about Fino. What had happened? Had the innkeeper left out something crucial?_


	27. Chapter 27: Never My Judas

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own HunterxHunter_

_**Story so far: **__Another trouble was brewing. Lucian smelled a lot of Kurapika's blood, and something had definitely happened to Fino; who was supposed to accompany the Kuruta in her daily excursion._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 27**

_**(NEVER) MY JUDAS**_

_**

* * *

**_

What they found downstairs was worse than they thought. Kurapika was nowhere to be seen, and there was a bloody, unconscious Fino on the floor. People were crowding around her to take a look and expressed their sympathy for the innkeeper. Kuroro and Lucian hurriedly knelt before Fino's body and checked her.

"_Scuzati-mi intruziunea_ (excuse my intrusion)…" Lucian muttered while he began lightly checking Fino for any external injuries.

"Fino, oh Fino…" The old man chanted her name vehemently with hopes she might hear him and woke up. No such luck, though.

"She only has small scratches and slight concussion on the head. Other than that, she's fine. These are all Kurapika's blood." Lucian announced.

"Where's Kurapika?" Kuroro asked the innkeeper.

"Ku—Kurapika? Oh dear… Where is she? I don't know…" The poor old man looked too disoriented to properly answer questions.

"Where is the other girl?" Kuroro asked the crowd impatiently.

"I…I only found Fino alone." One of the youths answered; he had blood on his humble shirt and pants—Kurapika's blood if Lucian was right.

"Relax, Lucifer. Let me find out what happened." Lucian put a reassuring hand on Kuroro's shoulder and he took a sample of Fino's blood from one of the scratches she had with a finger and licked it.

Kuroro looked at the vampire with even eyes. He knew of his other capabilities. Lucian could extract memories of the person whose blood he tasted. Memories stored in brain could deteriorate over time, but the body retained the memories almost forever. The quality of the memories, however, was not as detailed and intricate as the brains' memories despite being accurate. They were, after all, based on feelings and senses.

Lucian pressed closed his eyes and tried to concentrate in sifting through the jumbled up memories and images that he extracted from Fino's blood. After arranging the relevant memories, he proceeded in deciphering them.

"Her memories are rather hazy, but I can conclude that they had been attacked by a group of people. Kurapika shielded her and that's why her blood on Fino. Looks like she was taken hostage to threaten Kurapika, so Kurapika relented. Wait—"

His eyebrows furrowed deeper.

"They drugged Kurapika, I think. Then…they bashed this girl on the head." He finished softly.

When he opened his eyes to look at Kuroro, he found the man had his dark eyes fixed on a certain spot. Curiously, Lucian looked at Kuroro's line of sight, and found jagged cuts on the back of Fino's hand. The cuts were deliberately left there and they formed an odd shape.

"Insignia of bloody 'M'…" Kuroro muttered almost inaudibly.

Lucian had no idea on why Kuroro seemed to taken by this M insignia thing, but when he turned to question him about it, he aborted his intention. Seeing the murderous look Kuroro was giving off, he knew better than to push him with non-crucial questions. Kuroro abruptly rose to his feet and dashed out of the inn. Lucian could only stare like a thunder-struck rabbit.

"Sir, are you a doctor?" The old innkeeper shyly asked the vampire.

"I don't have official certificate of a medical doctor, but yes I am knowledgeable in medicine and the likes."

"Th—then can you help Fino?"

"Like I said, _bătrân_ (old man), Fino is _fine_." Lucian rolled his grey eyes. "But I'm going to attend to her, alright."

_Because she is a human, like what I used to be, _Lucian mused to himself, _though I suspect that Lucifer doesn't give that a damn._

_

* * *

_

Kuroro stood on the rooftop on one of the tallest building in the vicinity. He was not sure on how he could track down the Mammon, but through gut feelings or instincts or whatsoever else, he could not care less. His hunt bore fruit and he found that the Mammon made their temporary hideout in that abandoned compound—much like what the Genei Ryodan always did.

_Copy cats,_ he snorted in dry amusement and unusual resentment.

He could still sense his Nen within Kurapika. At least, he knew that the Kuruta was still alive.

He alone was enough to retrieve Kurapika. He alone, however, was not enough to incur total destruction upon the Mammon. No. He did not desire to simply get her back. He desired for the Mammon's thorough obliteration and ultimate annihilation. He would personally see to it.

Without averting his glare; which was so intense it could burn a hole through the concrete wall of the buildings, he fished out his cell phone and dialled a number he had memorised by heart. Shalnark's voice rang from the other end of the line. Kuroro's message was simple and clear.

"We have a mission."

After briefly telling Shalnark of his position, he hung up. He did not even bother telling the younger Spider about the new mission. His Spiders would always carry out the missions he gave them unquestioningly. They never questioned him. For their modus operandi, they knew what he required for them—acted without restraints, unless he said otherwise. It was a standard protocol among them; as Kurapika termed it.

He let out a small smile. He liked the girl's vocabularies.

"You don't have to come with me if you don't want to." Kuroro said flatly and disinterestedly to nobody in particular.

That 'nobody in particular' then stepped out of the shadows and produced himself as none other than Lucian. He eyed Kuroro critically, noting that the younger man had changed his attire back into his old Danchou attire. Even his hair was slick back, exposing the cross birthmark on his forehead for the world to see.

_Like he's declaring official war with the Mammon,_ the vampire mused inwardly.

"No, I can't afford letting a highly homicidal man to go around trying to play the hero while he may just end up blowing the whole place into bits. No thanks. A vampire I may be, but I'm a pacifist and a peace-lover."

"Then your effort is pointless."

"_La naiba!_ (dammit!) You are really planning to blow the whole place?"

"Not necessarily."

Lucian knew that Kuroro implied on him being in killing spree. Even if the vampire tried, he would not be able to stop the Spider Head anyway. Him coming along in this so-called rescue mission became something insignificant.

"Kurapika won't be happy if she knows." He pointed out, hoping to mellow him down.

"She won't even recognise what's going on around her at that moment." Kuroro said, his voice surprisingly grim and displeased. "I doubt she'll even remember anything at all."

"Meaning?" Lucian was totally clueless.

"The Mammon," he started with a slight spat, "consists of people who derive their pleasures from inflicting pain on others."

"Sounds like Feitan."

Kuroro nodded. "Imagine a group consisting of dozens of Feitan at worse scale."

"_Sfinte sisoe_. (holy shit)" Lucian shuddered.

Kuroro narrowed his eyes. He knew that at Kurapika might be enduring a series of torture at that very same moment—tortures that were beyond her imagination. He knew she would survive. She was too proud to allow herself to be killed by a bunch of 'no-taste criminals', and she might probably be scheming on how to get her revenge on them too, knowing her capability of holding grudges.

Still, he did not like the prospect.

* * *

During her brief stay with the bodyguard squad of the Nostrad family, now and then Kurapika had to go through a session of torture to extract information from the captives. She had anticipated that one day the position would be switched and she might be the one tortured for information. However, the torture session she had supervised before—she had never personally conducted the torturing with her own hands—seemed pale compared to what the Mammon was doing to her.

They had sealed away her Nen, broken her left arm, jabbed unsterilized needles between her fingernails and the flesh underneath it, plucked off the fingernails of her other hand, whipped her, kicked her everywhere their feet could reach, beat her senseless, slashed her with cat o' nine tails, and the list went on. Over the time, her sensory feelings started to numb and the pains started to come rather dull. She was grateful that the pains were not so agonising, but she still remembered vividly how excruciating it had been when they had just started the first session.

The first thing she did was to struggle and run away, but before she could do anything, one humongous man had pinned her down to the dusty floor; making her eat dirt, while the other man worked on her ankles. They then severed her Achilles tendons of both ankles so that she could not escape anymore. When they did this, she had screamed the life out of her lungs, the pain searing throughout her entire legs and shooting up to her upper body. Her legs had twitched violently, the spasms caused by the trauma in the muscles and nerves of her body.

"Now be a good girl and tell us all about the Genei Ryodan, girl." One of her torturers had said with sickeningly sweet voice.

Kurapika had not answered him—or rather, she had been unable to answer since she was still disoriented from the pain.

"Well?" The man had short patience and she grabbed a fistful of Kurapika's golden hair and yanked her head back, almost breaking her neck.

"How…am I…supposed to…know?" She spat those words, but they lost their power because her voice was simply too weakened.

"Don't play dumb, girl. We've been observing you and Kuroro Lucifer. You two are inseparable. We assume that you are his confidant or something. A member maybe?" A female that reminded her of Machi spoke up.

"I am NOT a Spider!" Kurapika started to regain her power in her speech as the pain was starting to dull, though still agonizingly painful.

"Hm? What then? A friend? Unlikely." She shook her head as she spoke to herself. "Kuroro Lucifer does not have friends."

Kurapika could not help but to smile to herself despite her situation.

_You haven't done your homework thoroughly, then, _she thought triumphantly as the image of Lucian flashed in her mind.

The female looked at Kurapika for the longest of time when she noticed the brief smirk that graced her bloodied face, before she strode towards her and studied her face with utmost curiosity.

"I heard he's a weird man. Suppose he has weird taste in women also? Say, are you his girlfriend?"

The question struck her silent, while the woman kept studying her feature.

"Strange. You aren't that bad face-wise, but you're flat!" She exclaimed that while sizing Kurapika's breasts with her both hands.

Kurapika yelped in surprise and out of reflex head-butted the woman hard on the nose. She could not give all she had given her constricting position, but it was enough to shove away the shameless woman.

"Aieee! You broke my nose!" The woman wailed.

"Quit bitching around. You won't break your nose just because of a lousy head-butt." A hooded man, who decided to sit in the corner of the dingy room, spoke up with authoritative and cold voice.

From the way the hooded man carried himself and from the way the others behaved around him, Kurapika could quickly conclude that HoodedMan was the leader of the pack. HoodedMan turned to Kurapika and gave her a cold stare. She did not flinch—cold stares were breakfast for her.

"That's quite some feistiness in you, little girl. How about you cooperate with us and tell us whatever you know about the Genei Ryodan, and we will let you go without further…injuries."

Kurapika snorted in utter contempt.

"You'll kill me regardless." She snapped at him.

HoodedMan smirked.

"Smart girl."

With a nod of his head, the men started the activity they relished so much—torturing. They only stopped after she had gained a few broken ribs, one broken arm, some nasty cuts, and vomited bloody phlegm—tell-tale sign of internal bleeding—before they tried interrogating her again.

"Still not talking?" HoodedMan asked with cool voice.

Kurapika clamped her mouth shut.

"Hmm… Strange." HoodedMan folded his arms and leaned back against the cold wall. "You said you are not a member but you travel with the leader. And now you won't say a thing about them? Why?"

Kurapika fought the urge to roll her eyes—she did not want to entertain them by telling how she got stuck with the Spider Head because of Hassamunni. Nonetheless, the Kuruta girl was profoundly relieved of those imbeciles' lack of attention for details—they had not realised that she was wearing black contact lens yet. If they knew that she was a Kuruta, things would get worse than ugly.

Noting her lack of response as stubbornness that had to be 'fixed', HoodedMan motioned at his men to continue torturing her. This time, she received more broken ribs and bones, as well as shattered patella, dislocated arms, and ruined fingernails.

"Still no?" HoodedMan nudged her head with the point of his shoes.

Kurapika gave him a strong hateful glare despite her wasted condition. Before succumbing to temporary darkness, she uttered five words:

"I…am not a Judas…"

* * *

"…'_And said unto them, "What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?" And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver'_…"

Kurapika turned to Kuroro, eyes quizzical and puzzled. Nonetheless, she finished his verse.

"Matthew 26: 15. What's with the biblical quote now?"

Kuroro glanced up and stared straight into Kurapika's oceanic blue eyes. When he said nothing, Kurapika turned around to face him fully and put her arms akimbo.

"The infamous verse about Judas Iscariot's betrayal against Jesus Christ. What's with that?"

"Betrayal? I'm more inclined to say that Judas is merely doing a fair trade. After all, the Bible itself described him as a businessman to the core, and that's why he was the treasurer of the group."

"_Fair trade_?" Kurapika widened her eyes. "You call selling a person for 30 measly pieces of silver as a _fair trade_?"

"At that time, 30 pieces of silver is quite a large some of money." Kuroro said coolly.

"He sold away his own teacher AND master!"

"And he received his punishment in the end, correct?" Kuroro had a small smile on his stoic face. "There are different versions of it. The Gospel of Matthew said that he returned the money to the priests and hung himself. The Act of the Apostles said that he bought a field with the money, but he fell down headfirst, and 'burst asunder in the midst and his bowels gushed out,' and hence the field was named _Akeldama_ or Field of Blood. The Gospel of Judas testified that he was stoned to death by his fellow disciples of Jesus."

"The Gospel of Judas is the most dubious among all." Kurapika narrowed her eyes.

"Regardless," Kuroro closed his eyes as if preparing himself to plunge into a thoughtful trance, "they are irrelevant issues to us."

"So what IS your point?" Kurapika exclaimed, getting frustrated by his beating-around-the-bush manner of speaking.

"We are both capable to be a Judas, Kurapika." Kuroro finally said.

Kurapika froze, and Kuroro elaborated his point.

"We can be each other's Judas. I could have just captured you and sold you as the last living Kuruta to other collectors who are willing to pay for handsome amount of money. You, at the same time, could have sold information about the Ryodan to other Hunters to help you get rid of us."

"But we didn't." Kurapika said defensively, but soon her facial features softened up considerably. "And I don't think we will ever."

_Regardless of the truce,_ she added mentally.

A content smile bloomed furtively on his lips as he heard her spoken words and sensed the unspoken ones.

"Agree."

* * *

Kuroro opened his eyes. That was the conversation they last had before Kurapika was abducted by the Mammon. How ironic it was that soon enough they were to prove that they were not Judases—or more specifically, it was Kurapika's turn.

"Danchou, everyone is here." Shalnark announced.

Lucian gave him a worried look. Despite his cool demeanour as per usual, the vampire could literally see the underlying murderous flames beneath those cold, obsidian eyes. If the moment came for those flames to escape in full-scale, he hoped he would not get scorched by it by accident—highly unlikely as it seemed.

_Lucifer has never been this agitated, _he mused and stole a glance at the other Spiders. _Is that why he is giving them his back, so that they can't see his agitation?_

"Annihilate everyone," was all Kuroro said.

The Spiders glanced at each other and then turned their heads to Nobunaga, giving him the look of you-know-that-this-mission-is-to-rescue-the-Kuruta-alive-although-he-didn't-say-it-out-loud-so-don't-you-play-dumb-and-kill-her-in-the-process. Nobunaga snorted in protest since they all seemed to be taking him as some imbeciles. It was unnerving, though, that his Danchou would assemble all Spiders to save the chain-assassin—the very same one who had killed Uvogin and Pakunoda.

"Mission initiated."

And all Spiders dispersed without leaving a trace. Lucian stepped closer to Kuroro and let out a whistle as he eyed the huge compound.

"How are you going to find her?"

"I can sense her." It was all thanks to his Nen he planted within her.

"She's alive and well?"

Kuroro shot him an are-you-an-idiot glare.

"Alive." _But definitely not well._

_

* * *

_

They were driving her to her edge of sanity. She had been through so many hardships but this agony was beyond her experience, and it took all she had to remain alive and rebellious. She would never give in to low-lives such as them. When she had passed out the first time, they had given her a meagre ten minutes of respite before kicking her back into life. Another fruitless interrogation session came, followed by another more rigorous torturing session.

By then, her breathing sounded more like wheezing than anything. She could feel her lungs filled with blood—lungs haemorrhage.

To distract herself from the pain and to ignore the insults, vulgarities, and pestering questions being thrown around her, Kurapika decided to think about other issues. The first thing that came to her mind was, surprisingly, Ishtar's last words to her:

_Look after him?_

If she was anywhere near healthy, she would have snorted in dry amusement.

Ishtar definitely was asking A LOT from her by that request. 'Look after him' had so many implications for her. By agreeing to that request, Kurapika had practically promised 'not to kill him', 'not to let others kill him', and even 'always be by his side'. It was as if she was agreeing to stay with him and be his, what, protector? No. Babysitter or wife sounded more like it.

_I screw up big time._ She chastised herself, though she oddly had no sense of regret in agreeing to Isthar's dying wish.

Kurapika did not know whether it was because she was hallucinating from side-effect of the pain, or because she was earlier drugged with some nasty stuffs, or because she was half-dreaming and about to faint again, but she was almost sure that she heard her brother's playful chuckle and voice:

_Oh, really?_

Before Kurapika could further entertain that ghostly imagination of her deceased brother, she was showered with ice-cold water. The biting cold awakened her nerves and senses rudely, and she almost jolted up in shock.

"Wake up! You are not here to sleep all day!" One gruff voice reached her ears roughly.

"This is getting old and boring." ShamelessWoman who had groped her before pouted. "Can we just do it my way?"

"Go on." HoodedMan nodded his approval and permission.

ShamelessWoman squealed in delight and bounced her way to the dying, half-mutilated Kuruta.

"This won't hurt much, girlie." She cooed to her as she straightened her up uncaringly like she was a rag doll. For someone who looked thin and fragile, ShamelessWoman was strong in muscles.

The woman bared her teeth, and Kurapika noticed then that her canine had grown in length and sharpness. They looked more like Lucian's vampire fangs than anything else.

"I can extract aa~~ny information from anyone, as long as I drink their blood. Pretty cool, huh? Like a vampire." She giggled excitedly, before she sank her fangs into Kurapika's tender neck.

Kurapika only had time to gasp in surprise, but since her body was already too numbed from the repetitive and vicious beatings from earlier sessions, she did not really feel any shocking pain. It felt more like she was bitten by ant. The only thing that mortified her was that after all her efforts to endure the pain in order to fulfil her 'I am not a Judas' vow, the Mammon would still be gaining access to her memory.

She almost cried in despair when ShamelessWoman's scream of agony distracted her from her despondency and mortification.

"What now, woman?" One of the men exclaimed in exasperation. It looked like that ShamelessWoman had a knack of exaggerating things, so they never took her seriously.

"Her—her blood—" ShamelessWoman choked and soon she was vomiting blood.

Kurapika, equally shocked and puzzled, could only lie on the cold floor while witnessing the woman emptying the blood out of her internal organs. Soon enough she was reduced to twitching figure of a woman and before long, ShamelessWoman was as good as dead.

The Mammon all stared speechless at ShamelessWoman's corpse, and then they averted their attention to Kurapika; who by then was still stunned. HoodedMan smirked in amusement and wonderment. The gears in Kurapika's minds then started to move and soon she recalled some conversations committed to her memories.

…_blood that tastes like poison to me…mixed with a nasty stuff…Ishtar's blood…you two are barely pure humans…_

Conclusion: ShamelessWoman was poisoned by Ishtar's essence flowing in her blood.

"Looks like Kuroro Lucifer's woman have more tricks up her sleeves than we have anticipated." HoodedMan said with soft chuckle.

"I am not his woman…" She hissed in annoyance as she recovered from her shock. The bite wound on her neck was still open and blood was flowing freely from it. She had already lost so much from previous torture sessions and added with this, she would soon die from blood loss rather than anything else.

Another male barked a laugh. "I see! Since she travels with that Kuroro Lucifer but claims that she's not his woman, she must be his whore!"

The others laughed merrily, as if that was a very amusing joke AND they were unfazed by ShamelessWoman's unfortunate death by Kurapika's poisonous blood. For Kurapika, that was a thoroughly humiliating insult. She wanted to shot back a harsh retaliation that she was no such thing and Kuroro Lucifer was nowhere near lustful, but her damaged lungs would not allow her such things. Heck, he treated her with respect that she had come to realise that nobody else in his criminal record calibre would have given her. Granted that he was known to be an actor and a deceiver, but she knew—she simply knew—that he had always been sincere to her.

Up until that very moment, he had never lied to her.

"If she can keep his attention to her for so long, it means she must be a damn good fucker. Let's check her out ourselves." One of the fattest, obviously most lecherous with excessive libido, hairy man among the Mammon stepped forward and began unbuttoning his pants.

"Don't kill her in the process." HoodedMan said, his voice devoid of any emotions.

"Nah, she won't die because he simply screwed her. You've seen her endurance." Another woman, who had been silent all the time that Kurapika failed to notice her, said with a shrug.

The man dropped his pants to the side and his erection was so prominent that everyone in the room could see it without even trying to.

"Heh, I wonder where do you hide that monstrous strength and endurance of yours in this little body?" He scooted closer to her and roughly took her chin in his calloused, fat-ridden hand. "I wonder how 'strong' you will be in beds… Although unfortunately there are no beds here."

To be honest, Kurapika was freaked out—so freaked out that her eyes turned scarlet but was fortunately concealed by her contact lenses. She wanted to break down in tears and cried to lament her extremely bad luck and demise which never ceased to haunt her. Why her? She wanted to drop all her tough-girl persona and simply gave in to her fear, but she would not let it go that way. She was a proud Kuruta, and would remain one until death claimed her. Death would be more acceptable than to live a life haunted by unredeemable shame.

Giving the fat man a hateful glare and mustering all courage she had, Kurapika muttered beneath her haggard breath:

"_Du-te la dracu '…_"

"What?" Her tormentor gave an idiotic bewildered look.

One of the females of the Mammon snickered amusedly.

"So she can speak Romanian, eh?"

Truthfully, she could not. That was only because Lucian had often muttered some profanities and curses in Romanian, and Kuroro had translated it for her at her request, that she began learning one or two of them.

"And what the fuck does that mean?"

"Hmm… Something along the line 'Go to hell'." The woman shrugged.

A punch across her cheek was delivered with no mercy, and the impact was so strong that her contact lens dropped. Fortunately, she was so disoriented and her minds were so clouded that for that moment her rage was forgotten and her eyes had turned back to their normal blue hue.

"Being a smart-ass, aren't you?" The fat man snarled at her. "Let see if we can teach some manners into you."

_You lot are the ones in dire need of some manners!_ She screamed in her mind, but she was too dizzy to utter a word of it.

"Here." Another man tossed the fat man something that looked like a piece of iron. "I made that in my free time when you guys are having your fun with her."

The fat man studied the object closely, and when he finally grinned evilly in satisfaction, Kurapika knew that she was in for another round of painful torture. The fat man turned to one of his comrades and asked for fire. The other man simply shrugged and lit it up with ease as by his Nen ability. When the iron was blazing, only then Kurapika noticed that it had been forged into a kind of branding device. Her eyes widened exponentially in horror. It was not the prospect of being branded that terrorised her; it was the design that scared the life out of her.

A brand of a crudely-shaped 12-legged spider.

"We'll help you become an official Spider." The man giggled happily as he announced his twisted version of assistance for her.

Unable to hold it back any longer, Kurapika's eyes burned scarlet, betraying her true identity. HoodedMan's eyes widened.

"HOLD IT!"

* * *

If he was any Kurutan, his eyes would have blazed beyond scarlet. He had never felt so wrathful before in his lifetime.

The white-hot iron was still sizzling from use, and smoke was hovering near Kurapika's bare chest. It took no genius to figure out what had just happened. He could smell the strong scent of freshly burnt flesh. A hooded man was holding Kurapika by her hair, taking a fistful of her delicate golden hair while leaving her hanging a few inches from the ground. Her jeans were tattered and her shirt was only a piece of rag hanging loosely from her body, barely covering her bruised and bloodied upper torso. The back of the shirt was soaked red in blood, while the front was deliberately torn apart.

She was so broken; so very much broken and damaged that the word 'irreparable' flashed in his mind.

His fists were clenched into balls so tightly that his knuckled turned white. Lucian noticed him bristling in uncontainable anger that he took some measurable steps backward, before finally turning to the other Spiders.

"Take cover!"

It was known to the Spiders that Lucian was somewhat their Danchou's company during his free time and had accepted him as 'Danchou's friend' in a way. They all also knew that the man was a joker, and so when he told them to scram with such serious face, they knew better than to disobey.

In the nick of time, just as all Spiders were behind a cover of some sorts, Kuroro Lucifer's fuse blew violently.

They were not sure on what had actually happened. They only knew that there was a violent explosion, and there were fires and roars of beasts and smokes rising from the hungry flames, coupled with the sound of crumbling structure. Also, aside from the screams of terrors and death, they heard their Danchou's steely voice:

"_Lemegeton: Ars Goetia._"

Behind an enormous piece of slug stone used as a shield, Lucian and few others Spiders; namely Phinks, Machi, Shalnark, Feitan, and Kalluto, took their chance for some chit-chat.

"That was close! The idiot really uses the Solomon Ring!" Lucian then uttered some curses in Romanian; which was ignored by the rest.

"This is the second time Danchou loses control of his anger." Machi noted with cool voice.

"That first time Danchou was pissed off (only), he flattened a whole clan like crushing a bug." Feitan said, almost proudly.

Kalluto gave an involuntary shiver. "How?"

"Who knows? He only told us to get away before he unleashed his power. None of us dare to disobey him when it comes to safety measure. He knows the extent of his power best."

Kalluto felt his blood ran cold at the mention of it. To think that these strange people with unbelievable strength would fear a single man's power, it could only give him the chill. Kalluto threw a hesitant glance over his shoulder.

_And he survived from encounters with both Father and Grandfather. What a monster_, Kalluto said to himself.

"Still, I cant' believe he can be that upset because of that brat." Nobunaga said derisively.

Shalnark and Machi sighed. Nobunaga was still resentful towards the blonde. Lucian, however, was not interested in their conversation so he took a sneak peak at the ravaging Armageddon. From distance and among the dusty smokes that covered the entire place, he could catch the twinkling of the blue globular earrings that were trademarks of Kuroro Lucifer. Lucian sighed in relief.

_Anansi, those earrings you gave him better have colossal endurance, otherwise only God knows what will happen when Lucifer lost those custom-made restrainers, _Lucian whimpered inwardly.

* * *

The extent of Kuroro's wrath could be seen from the extent of damage that the compound—not only the torture/interrogation room—sustained from his fury.

Almost all members of the Mammon were reduced to unrecognizable forms and shapes, while the buildings had given in to the power of the Solomon Ring's unleashed demons. Kuroro stood amidst the sea of smokes and dusts with some of his demons still standing by his side. As the dirt and dusts settled down back to the ground, only three figures remained standing—Kuroro, HoodedMan, and Kurapika who was still in HoodedMan's grip.

Despite his face being hidden under the shade of his hood, Kuroro could sense his awe directed towards his demons. HoodedMan carelessly dropped the burden in his hand to the ground, and Kurapika collapsed into a heap. She had fulfilled her role as his shield, so he had no further need of her in his hands.

"My, my… What amazing power you have there." HoodedMan stepped forwards and dared to face Kuroro in his wrathful-yet-somewhat-slightly-sedated state. "Imagine what kind of incredible goal you can achieve with that power alone!"

Kuroro narrowed his eyes into dangerous slits.

"Your point?"

"Straight to the point, aren't you? Well, suit me just fine." HoodedMan shrugged coolly, as if unaffected by the pressure in the air that Kuroro was giving off. "You know, you can easily dominate the world with your power. Have you thought of that?"

Kuroro only stared at him disinterestedly.

"Why don't you join me in that quest?"

Without any hesitation or faltering, Kuroro gave one of his demons a silent order and the demon threw a hellish fire towards the hooded man. Despite his big talk and huge composure, the hooded man was indeed a weakling. In no time, he was reduced to cinders.

"_Ashes to ashes, dust to dust_." Kuroro said coldly as he watched the hooded man's remains blown by the dusty wind and disappeared traceless. "The Mammon, patron of avarice. Your greed will be your downfall."

Then, all was silent—save only the sound of night wind blowing past the debris and what left of the compound.

"Lucifer, we need to take her to the hospital." Lucian was the first one to break the heavy silence.

"No." came his harsh and quick reply.

Lucian only had time to blink in confusion when in a whirlwind of movement Kuroro already had Kurapika secure in his arms.

"Machi." Kuroro suddenly called out to her.

"Yes." She quickly appeared next to him in the instant.

"Follow me. The rest of you, hunt down _every single one_ of the Mammon."

Then, without wasting another second, Machi and Kuroro took off, leaving Lucian and the other Spiders in the much wasted compound.

"Well…" Lucian scratched the back of his head nervously. "I'll be after them. Good luck, boys."

And Lucian took off as well.

"Why does Danchou bother to rescue that brat?" Nobunaga spat.

"I think it has something to do with their agreement." Shalnark piped in as he wandered about the place, checking to make sure that the dead were really dead for good.

"Agreement?"

"I once asked Danchou on how he could get the Kuruta so cooperative, and he told me that they had an agreement. He never disclosed the details to me, though."

"Danchou is only keeping his end of the bargain. He is a man of his words." Franklin said confidently and eerily serenely.

"By keeping her alive?" Nobunaga sounded more disgusted than anything.

"I suppose that's part of the agreement itself."

"Whatever it is, we have a job to do here." Shizuku chirped innocently as she summoned forth her Deme-chan. "I suppose I should clean them up?"

While Shizuku worked on swallowing what remained of the Mammon, Feitan approached one of the charred bodies. His hand glowed eerily purple as he touched one of the bodies that had not been mangled beyond recognition by an enraged, bloodthirsty Kuroro. He then proceeded with his 'unauthorized' silent interrogation.

* * *

Once they reached a random hotel, Kuroro and Machi barged into an unoccupied room, leaving Lucian to deal with the booking and other menial tasks. ("Me again! I'm not their bell boy, _pentru numele lui Dumnezeu!_ (for God's sake!)") After ripping off Kurapika's useless shirt, Machi performed first-aid to sew together Kurapika's severed Achilles tendons and the other huge deep cuts all over her body. When Machi rolled Kurapika's battered body over to check her back, her eyebrows twitched slightly as she saw a gashing bloody M etched on her back. It filled her entire back, stretching from her upper shoulder to her upper waist.

Kurapika gave no reactions whatsoever when Machi treated her. Unsurely, Machi stole a glance to the direction of her Danchou, and found him staring into empty space. His face was devoid of any emotion, and his presence was so detached from the world. It seemed that he was driving all his brain cells into thinking of what else to do in that situation. Machi turned to study Kurapika—she looked as if her soul was in the verge of departing from her body.

"Danchou, this is all I can do." She finally spoke softly.

Kuroro gave no response.

"Give her this." Lucian, who had again miraculously popped out of nowhere, handed a syringe filled with odd-coloured liquid to Machi.

The female shot him a dubious look.

"They are painkillers." Lucian rolled his eyes.

Machi did as she was told, and administered the drug into Kurapika's system. She still gave no apparent reaction.

"Machi, go and get Kurapika's friend. Especially the doctor. Bring them here by all means, but keep them unharmed."

"Okay."

And she went off.

"Lucian. Do me another favour." He still had not averted his blank gaze from the empty space he had been staring at.

"_Care este?_ (which is?)"

"Go back to that compound and find Kurapika's ring. They must have looted it from her. It's the exact replica of this one, but with blue stone." He tossed his own ring to Lucian.

Lucian was dying to question many of his decisions, but he knew better than anyone else that the time was not right. He would have other times to interrogate the younger man. Wordlessly, he departed from the hotel room, leaving Kuroro with the once-again dying Kuruta.

The room fell into pregnant silence, and still Kuroro was standing in the exact same position he had assumed since he arrived to the room. He fingered the Solomon Ring enveloping his finger, feeling the cold touch.

"Why didn't you protect her?" He spoke.

A thin wispy smoke appeared and the Ifrit showed himself in much subtler fashion than before.

_My command is not to harm her. You never order me to protect her. _

Kuroro narrowed his eyes, but nonetheless admitted that his wordings when he declared the rules had been rather incomplete.

"I'll give you a new order." He finally turned to spare a glance at Kurapika's still form on the bed. "Protect her."

_Forever?_

"If needs be."

_What about you?_

Realizing it for the first time, Kuroro concluded that one of the reasons that he was so invincible was not because of his sole efforts and powers. There were other external factors that contributed to it—notably from certain black-haired woman and golden-haired man.

"I have enough protection as it is."

* * *

When Lucian reached the destroyed site ("So in the end he really blew the entire place to bits," Lucian rolled his eyes), all the Spiders had disappeared and none of the bodies of the Mammon was left behind. There was only one living creature there, and it was apparently waiting for him.

"Look at this wreck!" Lucian huffed. "What was Ishtar thinking about? Giving him her blood and the Solomon Ring. Did she intend to make him a demigod or something?"

"Hardly." Anansi shook his head, and his pale golden hair swayed gently. "Both are for his protection and survival."

The vampire frowned at the spider incarnation.

"Y'know. The way you behave around Lucifer is thoroughly different when you are alone with anyone else. _De ce? _(Why?)"

"Because he is such a cute ki~~d." Anansi put up a cutesy face, which gave Lucian goose-bumps.

_Doting parent…_was what came across Lucian's thought instantly.

"Anyway, here's the ring. Bet he asked you to look for this." Anansi tossed him Kurapika's ring.

Lucian caught the ring with one hand and pocketed it. He did not even bother to check it again. He eyed Anansi with critical eyes, before sighing heavily.

"Good thing your earrings work wonders."

Anansi gave a small smile.

"They have to. Being a human with blood mixed with blood of a Goddess, albeit a fallen one, has some dire risks in it. In essence, it's a lethal poison despite the power in it—the power that allows Kuroro to master the Solomon Ring. If the human is not strong enough mentally, physically, emotionally, and psychologically, the blood will destroy him. Mentally and physically, Kuroro was beyond average human. But psychologically…" Anansi turned hesitant.

"Psychologically?" Lucian encouraged.

"His psychology develops late and slow—stagnant. A genius he may be, but he lacks the ability to differentiate right from wrong. They are inconsequential to him and his thinking-process."

"Conscience deficit?"

"Roughly speaking," Anansi nodded in grim acknowledgement. "And that's why he needs the restrainers—only God above and Satan below know what he'll do when Ishtar's essence finally overwhelms him."

* * *

When Leorio came and upon one glance on his beaten up friend, he vehemently suggested bringing Kurapika to the hospital but Kuroro told him that it was impossible. In the record, Kurapika Kuruta was supposed to be dead and she would have to remained dead forever for her own safety. While Leorio thoroughly checked on Kurapika's sustained injuries, Killua began interrogating the Spider Head.

"Okay, so I won't take no for this: how the hell did she end up like that?" Killua spun on his heels and glared at the older man. Gon also gave him a demandingly questioningly look.

Kuroro sighed silently. It was their rights to know what had really happened that Kurapika fell into such awful state. He then told them the general idea about the Mammon, and that she was already in a better state since Machi had already tended to her cuts.

"If it wasn't for Machi, Kurapika might have been dead or at best crippled for the rest of her life." He was referring to her severed Achilles tendons.

"You think she'll be okay? She won't be crippled?" Gon's eyes were already glassy from tears.

"I trust Machi's abilities." Kuroro said dismissively. "But now it all depends on your friend's abilities as a doctor."

"He's still a trainee!" Killua protested. Leorio thanked Killua for giving him an excuse, because he himself was not very confident of his capability so far.

Kuroro did not respond to Killua's protests. Instead, he folded his arms across his chest and took a seat on one chair at the corner of the room. He then closed his eyes and refused any conversations with the other boys. Killua and Gon exchanged anxious looks.

They could only wait.

* * *

"What about Kurapika?" Lucian asked.

"The side-effect of Ishtar's blood on her shouldn't be that as significant as on Kuroro, since she received it from Kuroro. Nevertheless, a safety precaution will be in order since she's not that emotionally stable," he paused, and added, "yet."

_Perfect match. They complement each other,_ Lucian thought fleetingly.

"Side-effect, side-effect. You've been blabbering about side-effects. What are the side-effects, really?" Lucian stomped his foot lightly as a sign of his frustration.

"It can be anything, both beneficial and detrimental. Extraordinary recovery, death and insanity are the simplest ones." Anansi said with a shrug, and he had no wish to elaborate more on other possible gruesome side-effects.

* * *

"Holy crap!"

Leorio's rude exclamation attracted the attention of all occupants of the room. He was still crouching over Kurapika's body, examining her once again with very deep frown etched on his forehead. He seemed puzzled above worried.

"What's wrong, Leorio?" Gon was the first one to squeak the question.

"I…" He was hesitant at first, but he eventually turned to address Kuroro. "Did she learn some new skills along the travel?"

This time it was Kuroro's turn to frown.

"Explain."

"Well…See here." Leorio lifted Kurapika's broken arm and to Kuroro's amazement the arm looked simply brand new.

"What's so wrong with her arm?" Killua asked.

"Killua, it was BROKEN into a strange angle just some minutes ago if you haven't noticed (which you obviously haven't), and now it's perfectly well!" Leorio rolled his eyes in exasperation at the boy's ignorance. "Also, she has been suffering from lungs haemorrhage, five broken ribs and the rest are fractured, broken upper arm bone, fractured and shattered kneecaps, fractured scapula, internal bleeding, severe head concussions, trauma around the solar plexus, fractured skull, fingernails…uuh…" Leorio cringed upon recalling the horrid deformity of Kurapika's fingernails—or lack thereof.

_Those beasts! They actually plucked off her fingernails!_ He was actually close to vomiting.

"That sounds awful…" Gon made a sad puppy face.

"And now they are all healed!" Leorio ignored Gon's remark.

"All healed?" Killua asked for verification.

"One hundred percent! So," Leorio turned to Kuroro again. "Are you sure she is the normal Kurapika we know? We know she's got skills, but this is just too weird and…" He cast an uneasy glance at the girl, "…inhuman."

Something clicked in Kuroro's minds upon hearing the word 'inhuman'.

_Ishtar's blood…_

"So what's the problem with that? Isn't that a good thing?" Gon asked innocently, his face was bright.

"It's well, Gon, but it's too strange." Killua poked the other boy's head. "What if it's a 'calm before storm' kind of situation?"

"She's not waking up."

Kuroro words were more of a question than a statement. The older man looked at Kurapika with critical eyes, while the other three exchanged worried glances.

"Well…" The lanky boy scratched the back of his head nervously. "That is the part that I do not understand. By right, she's supposed to be awake by now. Maybe a little dizzy and disoriented but…yeah…"

Kuroro frowned at this. Something was missing.

"Lucifer."

A voice unfamiliar to the three yet familiar to Kuroro rang in the darkness of the room. The three whipped their head towards the direction of the balcony of the hotel room, and found a strange man standing there. Just a second ago there was nobody there.

"Took you long enough." Kuroro said quietly.

"Here's the rings." Lucian said as he tossed the said rings carelessly at Kuroro's direction; which the man caught singlehandedly without even looking at them.

Lucian looked at Kurapika's sleeping form.

"How's _dragă_ (darling)?"

"She isn't waking up." Kuroro answered with rather grim voice.

Lucian's shoulders sagged slightly, and muttered, "_Cum era de aşteptat…_ (As expected)"

Kuroro raised an eyebrow but before he could ask anything, Lucian was already marching towards Kurapika's bed. The trio quickly shifted and made a barricade between the vampire and the Kuruta girl. Lucian blinked once.

"They are her close friends." Kuroro then turned to the three. "He is an acquaintance to Kurapika."

The three eyed Lucian warily and with suspicions, and they still refuse to budge from their spots. Lucian only shrugged nonchalantly.

"The Zaoldyck boy, the doctor-to-be, and Ging's boy?" The vampire turned to ask Kuroro; which he answered with a silent nod.

Gon's face lit up.

"You know my father?"

"Somewhat, but let's save that for later." Lucian put up a stopping hand before Gon could torrent him with questions regarding the elusive Hunter. He regarded Kuroro with even eyes.

"Hey, since they distrust _me_ so much, why don't _you_ put her ring on her?"

Kuroro raised an eyebrow.

"Will that make a difference?"

"Who knows?" The vampire gave him an unsure grin, pretending to be innocent but was a poor attempt.

Kuroro looked down at the blazing red rings in his hand, and then up at Lucian. He narrowed his eyes at the vampire.

"An explanation is in order, Lucian."

Lucian gave an 'eep' squeak and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily out of nervousness. Kuroro then slid the ring from Ishtar to Kurapika's thin finger. Lucian crossed his fingers behind his back. The other three, clueless as they were, still held their breath in anticipation.

A minute passed, and Kurapika opened her eyes.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__I got some polling to do here, guys. First, do you want a ShalnarkxFino pairing? Some reviewers actually like that idea. Also, do you honestly want Kuroro and Kurapika as one family? Personally, I think that'll be awkward, but hey I'll try to please you guys. So, do tell me of your preferences by reviewing, okay? Oh, and by the way, some sites said that 30 pieces of silver is equivalent to about US$11,000 - $15,000. _

_**Next: **__Kurapika finally opened her eyes! But what kind of explanation did Lucian have to offer for Kuroro? What about Ishtar's blood and its side-effects on Kurapika? What about the restrainers?_


	28. Chapter 28: Intermezzo

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Hunter x Hunter (and will never…)_

_**Story so far: **__All seemed well as Kurapika finally woke up. However, what kind of explanation would Lucian offer regarding the rings? What about those 'restrainers'?_

_**WARNING: **__I DO NOT speak Romanian, and so if there are any wrong Romanian sentences down there, blame the Google Translator._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 28**

_**INTERMEZZO**_

_**

* * *

**_

As Leorio had expected, Kurapika Kuruta was THOROUGHLY disoriented when she came to.

"Kurapika, you are awake!"

"Kurapika! How are you feeling?"

"Kurapika!"

The said girl whose names had been repeatedly called by three different people could only blink in utter confusion and bewilderment.

"What—why—how—?" She stuttered, unable to take everything in one instant.

As the three tried to spoon-feed her with whatever information they knew of her condition, Kuroro shot a hard look at his vampire friend.

"_O mare parte din explicaţie, Lucian._ (A great deal of explanation, Lucian)" Kuroro told him sharply.

Lucian raised a quizzical eyebrow. It was very rare for Kuroro to actually speak in Romanian (which he had taught him in their free time). If he did, it could only mean that he required private audience with the vampire alone.

"_Chiar acum_. (Right now)_ Afara._ (Outside)" Kuroro added.

"_Ei bine_… (Well…) _Nu ma deranjeaza,_ _dar_ ... (I don't mind, but…)" Lucian glanced briefly at the disoriented Kurapika. "_Ce zici de Kurapika?_ (What about Kurapika?)"

"_Prietenii ei vor ţine ocupat ei_. (Her friends will keep her busy)" Kuroro responded quickly and began pacing toward the door.

"_Dar ea are dreptul să ştie asta! _(But she has the right to know this too)" The vampire protested, but nonetheless followed Kuroro out of the room.

"_Voi spune-i ce are nevoie să ştie._ (I will tell her what she needs to know)" Kuroro briskly responded.

Without making any noises, the two older men slipped out of the room unnoticed. Once outside, they walked several metres away from the room to avoid being overheard by the occupants of the room. When Kuroro deemed the distance as acceptable, he spun on his heels and confronted Lucian.

"Well?"

"What do you want me to explain?" Lucian raised his shoulders and hands in a clueless-questioning gesture.

"The ring."

"Ah…Well, you see…" Lucian scratched the back of his head. "Where do I start? Okay, first, Ishtar's blood. Do you know that it has some side-effects?"

"I figured that much already." Kuroro crossed his arms. "What are they?"

"Ask Anansi for details," The vampire said offhandedly.

Kuroro frowned at this, and took mental note to 'pay a visit' to his 'foster father'.

"But so far I only know that extraordinary recovery is one of them—like what happened to _fată_—as well as death and insanity."

Lucian paused to observe the subtle change in Kuroro's facial expression. He knew that the younger man had sensed something from this information. Lucian also had not bothered to elaborate more about the details of 'why' and 'how', since it was highly likely that Kuroro did not require it—he could work that out on his own. Kuroro narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.

"Continue."

"_Ei bine…_So basically you guys need some kind of restrainers to control Isthar's blood in you."

"_Because you are psychologically unsound and she is emotionally unstable,"_ was what Lucian wanted to say, but he deliberately left that out since he knew that nothing good would come out of telling the Spider Head that.

Kuroro's eyebrows furrowed.

"The ring?"

"The _rings_," the vampire corrected, "are your and her restrainers. I met Anansi in the ruins of the compound _you literally blew to bits_," he emphasised the last part with slight distaste, "and he modified the rings into restrainers."

_You'd better not tell him about his earrings being restrainers, or else I'll haunt your days and nights with itsy-bitsy-spidery nightmares, GOT IT?_ Anansi had threatened Lucian so, and the vampire had no choice but to comply with the spider incarnation's wish—lest he was doomed with spidery life for the rest of his eternity. He would not want that, not a chance.

"So you two are best not to take off those rings, if you want to live a normal life—" Lucian paused and corrected himself, "…a relatively normal life."

"After all these," Kuroro raised his hand that donned the Solomon Ring and his restrainer-ring, and gave a dark, almost sinister smile, "life can never be normal."

"Um…Kuroro?" came Gon's small voice from a distance halfway between the door and the two adults.

Gon eyed Kuroro with steady eyes, not fearing or despising him as he used to, but gave Lucian a dubious look—which the vampire did not give a fig for. Kuroro turned his head and only gave him a gaze that indicated the boy to continue with whatever he wanted to tell him. Gon caught the silent message quick.

"Em…Kurapika's fainted again."

Lucian went rigid, but Kuroro's countenance remained cool and undisturbed. He gave the boy an even look.

"Fall asleep, you mean?" Kuroro asked with small smile. He was amused on why the boy bothered to inform _him_ of Kurapika's condition at all. He was regarded as her—and consequently their—enemy, after all.

Soon enough, Killua came storming from the room towards Gon and conked him hard. Gon stumbled slightly upon impact.

"Gon, you idiot! She just fell asleep!"

Lucian could only stare at the Spider Head with utter amazement. How he could really be in synch with the Kuruta girl was beyond him.

* * *

"_HOLD IT!"_

_Everyone in the room froze in their respective spots. All eyes were directed to HoodedMan with profound puzzlement. HoodedMan had never raised his voice to bark orders; he usually did so with utmost coolness and composure._

"_So you are a Kuruta, eh? Wonder of wonders! To think that the last Kuruta will travel with the murderer of her clan!"_

"_I am through with that!" Kurapika spat to the dirt, seeing that she was still pinned on the ground._

"_Oh really? I can see why Kuroro Lucifer treasures you so much that he'll bother keeping you with him. Shall we insult him a bit?"_

_With that, he turned Kurapika roughly so that her back was towards him. In a flash, he made the insignia of bloody M on her back with a dagger he hid behind his hood. Kurapika only gasped in surprise as her skin felt pricked by the razor-sharp blade._

"_A memento to remind you and him of our little time together." HoodedMan whispered close to her ears._

_He then took a fistful of her golden hair and yanked her from the ground._

"_Brand her."_

_

* * *

_

A blood-curdling scream filled the entire room and reverberating throughout the entire floor of the hotel in the dead of the night. Killua and Gon; who had been sharing a bed in the same hotel room as Kurapika's, jumped to their feet in alert. Leorio, on the other hand, stumbled unceremoniously from the sofa he had been sleeping on to the carpeted floor with a soft thud. When Leorio had only managed to gather himself from the floor, rubbing his sore forehead sleepily, Killua and Gon were already by Kurapika's bedside.

"Kurapika, what's wrong?"

The question was repeated so many times, but it gave no consolation to the shaken Kuruta. The said girl was busy looking underneath her shirt, trying to frantically find the crude 12-legged spider brand on her chest—which by then was already non-existent due to her healing capability. While the trio tried their best to calm down the girl, Kuroro—who could not help but to hear the hair-raising scream from the next room he booked for him and Lucian ("_Sfinte sisoe!_ (holy shit!)" he cussed as he stumbled from his bed in the same fashion as Leorio did)—stood by the doorstep and watched the whole commotion in silence. He was still dressed in his Danchou attire, only he was wearing his hair down by then.

The attention was brought to him only when Kurapika started calling out his name rather frantically.

"Kuroro!" She finally bellowed.

"You don't have to scream, Kurapika. I'm not deaf." He answered her coolly, still a good distance away from the bed.

Kurapika glared at him as per her habits towards him, but beneath that irritation Kuroro could clearly see the underlying horror in those oceanic blue eyes that were slightly tinted red.

"What…How…how was I when you found me?"

Her three Hunter friends knew that she was referring to the Mammon incident, as she had been informed earlier that it was Kuroro Lucifer who had actually rescued her (she did not seem surprised by it, taking it awfully calmly as if that was the natural order of things—which had almost freaked the living hell out of her friends)

"How much do you remember?" Kuroro asked quietly.

"I…" Kurapika bit her lower lips, and she shuddered upon recalling the horrid incident. "I think I blacked out after they branded me…"

Kurapika was still clutching her shirt just above her heart; the spot where the Mammon had branded her. Although the evidence was gone, the pain was still unrelenting; burning and painfully real. Leorio of course had noticed the brand before it went away, but he wisely chose not to tell the other two about it—for a reason that he might just not have the heart to tell others about it. It was simply too pitiful.

Kuroro eyed her with critical eyes. He knew exactly what she wanted to ask about.

"They did _not_ rape you, Kurapika."

The other three gracelessly gawked at him.

"Are you sure?"

They turned to stare at Kurapika with disbelieving eyes.

"Pretty much yes."

They looked back at Kuroro.

"No, you are not." She snapped, her voice breaking apart. "You weren't there when they—they…"

Kuroro sighed. There was only one way to really convince the girl that she was still innocent and virgin. Kuroro strode to her side and bent down so that he could take her chin between his thumb and index finger and tilted her head up. Her wavering scarlet eyes stared back into his obsidian eyes.

"Let's go to Una."

The Unicorn would be the one to give the final, irrefutable decision of whether Kurapika was still innocent or not.

With one chocked sob, Kurapika nodded silently.

Kuroro shrugged off his thick Danchou coat and draped it on her thin shoulders. He then slipped one hand beneath the crook of her knees and carried her bridal style. He adjusted her position in his arms so as to ensure that she would be shielded from most of the bad night wind. He tucked her head safely beneath his chin as she laid her head against his chest.

Before Kuroro leapt from the balcony of the hotel room, he threw a sideways glance at the gawking trio.

"You can come along if you want to."

* * *

Una was standing by the lake of a forest, forlorn and worried sick. She could only point out to Kuroro the direction of where the Mammon had taken Kurapika, and that was all she could do. She wanted to see Kurapika, to see whether she was alright or not. She wanted to come to them, but she could not go into the city. She could only pace about the forest restlessly; waiting and waiting until they came to visit her.

"Una?"

And her prayer was answered.

_Kurapika!_

Without dilly-dally, Una galloped towards where Kurapika's shaky voice had come from. She soon spotted Kuroro sauntering towards her, cradling Kurapika securely in his arms. Without faltering; much to Kurapika's and Kuroro's immense relief, Una thrust her head eagerly into the embrace of Kurapika's open arms, at the same time careful not to accidentally hurt the girl with her horn. She nuzzled her face closely and earnestly to Kurapika's bosoms, like a child who had missed her mother very much.

Kuroro gave Kurapika a triumphant smile.

"Is this enough a confirmation and consolation?"

Kurapika's eyes were already glassy with tears of relief.

"More than enough."

Una had no idea on what they were talking about. Whatever it was—they could be talking about the end of the world, for all she could care—she was content enough to feel Kurapika's presence near her.

At the same time, Kurapika's Hunter friends were standing a considerable distance away from the reuniting Unicorn and her companions. They were staring with mouths open wide and eyes as big as a saucer.

"Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing, or am I seeing things because I'm too damn tired?" Leorio asked, still not daring to tear away his attention from the glowing horned horse which was nuzzling her head against Kurapika, because the scene was too precious to miss out and he was afraid that once he looked away, everything would vanish.

"I'm seeing a glow-in-the-dark horse with a horn, which I've heard is called a Unicorn." Killua declared.

"Precisely what I'm seeing. So that's a real thing?"

"A Unicorn!" Gon squealed in delight.

His squeal earned the attention of the said Unicorn, who then eyed them with wary yet curious beady eyes. Curiosity getting the better of her and Gon, soon the two of them were already studying each other and entertaining each other. Kurapika asked Kuroro to let her off, and he complied.

Soon enough, after Kurapika joined Gon and Una, the other two boys joined the merriment and were having one of those good old days back again. Kuroro then, out of respect, retreated into the recess of the darkness of the forest to allow them some private moments.

It was a boundary that he knew he was not supposed to step into—a part of Kurapika's world which he did not belong to.

* * *

Kurapika thought that she could finally earn some peaceful days, although she was still disappointed that a few days later her friends had to go back to attend to their duties and jobs: Leorio with his medical studies, Gon and Killua with their Ging-hunting-journey.

Oh, and of course Gon had pestered Lucian to talk about Ging

"_That man? He's one of the strangest, craziest dudes I've ever seen. Not to mention a royal pain in the ass for pulling some lunatic pranks on his only son—" _

"_Lucian!"_

_THWACK!_

"_Killua, is my dad a bad person? Everyone's talking bad about him."_

"_Nah, Gon. I think that's just their way of showing their affection for your dad."_

"_I think it's your father's friends who are rather mental." _

Kurapika thought that her days would go back to normal (YES! Travelling with Kuroro Lucifer and Lucian Virgilliu was now considered a normality for her), but by golly how wrong she was.

Several days after her friends departed and she and Kuroro resumed their Scarlet-Eyes-hunting, the whole Genei Ryodan gang assembled before Kuroro to report of their successful Mammon-hunting mission. Moreover, they announced that they were going to stick around their Danchou for the next couple of days.

Here came her personal hellions straight from the bowels of Hell.

* * *

"Do you really think this'll work?" Phinks asked nervously as he glanced towards his comrades.

"I honestly don't know." Shalnark answered with low voice as he eyed the unconscious Kuruta girl in front of them. "Or rather, I don't wanna know…"

Kurapika was sitting on a humble chair with her chin rested heavily on her chest. Her expression looked tranquil, betraying the fact that she had actually been drugged to sleep by none other than the Spiders themselves. Her breathing was even, and her body language was relaxed.

"Remind me again on why we are doing this." Machi said curtly with her glacial voice, shooting dirty look at Phinks and Shalnark.

"Well…" Phinks scratched the back of his head.

The Spiders exchanged glances with each other. Of course they recalled quite vividly the event that triggered this very dangerously volatile mission that they undertook _without_ the permission of their Danchou. It was not like they had any choice in the matter—even if they asked for permission, there was no way in hell that Kuroro Lucifer would ever consent to such mission.

"You want me to WHAT?"

Kurapika's roar of indignation shook the entire room—if not the entire small deserted house they currently occupied—mildly, but the man whom she had yelled at remained unfazed and passive. If anything, he was kind of used to it by then. Kuroro folded his arms across his chest and gave his companion a steady look.

"I want you to stay here with the others while I attend to an urgent business." He repeated generously for her.

That did not help.

"You want ME to spend two days under the SAME ROOF with those SPIDERS of yours? Have you lost your sanity, Kuroro Lucifer?"

"No. I'm perfectly well and sound both physically and mentally." Kuroro gave her an irritatingly amused expression.

"Kuroro!"

"Kurapika, it's only for one night. ONE. Can't you bear with it for one measly night?"

"One night TWO days." She pointed out. "Then give me the reason why I can't tag along with you instead of staying with those, those…" she struggled for a moment to find a suitable word, and finally settled with "hooligans…"

"So you prefer coming along with me?" Kuroro's grin broadened.

"Hell, YES!" She was close to shrieking now.

"Previously you have always fussed around, complaining that you want to get away from me. And now after we dissolved the bind, you want to stick with me?"

"Dunderhead! This and that are completely different issue!"

Unbeknownst to them, the Spiders were eavesdropping from behind the door. They were crowding in the corridor and some managed to press their ears to the door, straining their hearings to catch their muffled conversation through the solid door. It was not hard to perfectly hear what Kurapika was saying, though—she was practically screaming.

"Hoo…What do you think they'll settle with?" Phinks asked in excited whisper.

"I wager Danchou'll make her stay." Franklin whispered back.

"I'll say Kurapika'll tag along with Danchou." Shalnark piped in.

"I bet Danchou will let her mutilate you all to death when they find you eavesdropping them." Machi said in very low voice, refusing to reduce her speech to mere whispers yet at the same time not wishing to be heard by the conversing people inside the room.

"Sssh!" They all put their index fingers on their lips to signal at her to keep quiet before they turned back to eavesdropping.

Machi's face scrunched up in displeasure for being told to shut up—usually it was she who told others to shut their trap. With an annoyed huff, she strode to the opposite wall and leaned against it, deciding to observe the situation rather than joining the eavesdropping team.

"What say you, Nobu?" She asked absentmindedly.

"!#%^&*()" came the muffled curses.

"Oh, I forgot…" Machi shrugged her tiny shoulders uncaringly and did not even bother to look at the poor samurai who was all tied up and had duct tape covering his loud mouth.

Nobunaga struggled to get himself free of the rope, but the rope was of special material that would not tear unless one used raw strength. The more Nen utilised to break the rope, the tighter the 'embrace' would be. Only people with ridiculous raw strength like Uvogin could break such ropes. The moment they all unanimously decided to eavesdrop, they had taken into consideration to first silence and immobilise Nobunaga. That was the most crucial safety measure they could think of.

"Do you think Danchou can really convince her to stay?" Machi asked again, seemingly to nobody in particular. When there was no answer forthcoming, Machi frowned. "Lucian?"

Answering to his summon, Lucian appeared out of nowhere. It was as if he had simply emerged from the shadows of the corridors. He had his usual cheeky grin plastered on his deathly pale face while his grey eyes glinted with mischief.

"I'm sure as hell that he is going to make her stay." The vampire answered in soft voice as he sauntered towards Machi.

"Reason being?"

"I was the one who told him that she must not come with us."

"You are going with Danchou?" Machi turned to glare at him with narrowed eyes, deliberately showing her suspicions against him. "What are you planning?"

"My motive is a secret, but I am going to tell you my plan."

He gave her an impish grin and started _explaining_ his plan to her.

* * *

Machi looked down at the so-called wonder drugs that Lucian had given her before he departed with Kuroro. According to him, the drug would put a _heavy _sleeping spell on Kurapika, but at the same time she would be under hypnotised state where she would answer any questions directed to her honestly without fault. The whole concept of the drug had been intriguing to her, but now she was starting to sense the unfamiliar sensation of doubts in her guts. Her instinct was telling her that it was not going to end pretty.

Nevertheless, the other Spiders had been too eager to test out the drug so she could not really object. The gang had unanimously agreed upon interrogating her of her relationship with Danchou. Personally, she had been itching to know more about that issue as well.

All they needed to do was to dissolve the drug in a drink and make the Kuruta drink it. After some brainstorming because they knew that there was no way that they could make the Kuruta eat or drink anything they gave her—considering that she was still _extremely_ wary about them—they ended up with delegating the task to poor Shalnark.

Of course the young man had vehemently rejected such nerve-wracking, life-threatening mission, but upon being told that he was the second person next to Danchou who was closest to the girl (among the Spiders, that is), he knew that he could not retaliate. After praying for longer life and 'spare me from this cup of suffering, oh Lord', Shalnark took off to the girl's room (who had begrudgingly agreed to stay in her room until Kuroro came back—but only Gods above knew what kind of persuasion he used to really convince the more-stubborn-than-a-mule girl to stay put) to offer her a canned soft drink.

They had dissolved the drug and injected it into the canned drink, and they could only hope that the girl had not bothered to check the can for any needle marks. Apparently, the Goddess of Fortune smiled upon them and she did not check. As soon as she had finished the entire can, she was out like a light.

"What should we ask her first?" Kalluto asked innocently, voicing the same thought the others had been mulling over.

"Lemme try." Nobunaga marched forward with his hand on the hilt of his sword. There was a faint mark of duct tape across his mouth, and the skin was still throbbing from when the duct tape was forcibly taken off. _Damn you guys, one of these days I'm so gonna let you have a taste of being duct-taped!_ He swore inwardly.

"Nobu, don't do anything harsh…" Shalnark warned him with nervous voice.

It was a common secret between them that their Danchou was uncannily fond of the Kuruta girl—if not unnervingly protective. That was one of the objectives of the interrogation: to find out the reason of their Danchou's unusual possessiveness of this particular Kuruta.

"Hey, wake up, brat!" Nobunaga barked.

Kurapika stirred awake and the Spiders involuntarily held their breaths. They all tensed up in anticipation of what the girl was going to do, but they quickly sighed in great relief upon seeing the drowsy look in her oceanic blue eyes. The drug did work nicely. Nobunaga scowled at her, but there was an apparent smugness on his face.

"Answer me, have you tried harming Danchou in your…journey together?" Nobunaga practically spat out the last two words like they were plague.

The answer did not come forthwith.

"…yes…" came Kurapika's soft answer, her eyes giving a blank, soulless stare.

Nobunaga gave out a low guttural growl, but Machi's cold eyes stopped him from unsheathing his sword.

"She has _not_ harmed him." Machi warned him.

"Tsch. Next question!" Nobunaga whipped his attention back to the drugged girl. "Do you intend to harm Danchou in the future?"

"No." The answer was rather fast to stumble out of her mouth this time.

"Do you intend to kill him?"

"No."

Everyone in the room raised their eyebrows and looked at each other with obvious bewilderment. Here was the chain-assassin; the sole survivor of the massacre of the Kuruta tribe, who had swore by her own blood, soul, and life to extract her revenge on the Genei Ryodan, telling them that she had no intention of killing the brain behind the massacre? Could they believe it?

"Why?" This time, it was Machi who asked.

"…we have…a truce…" answered Kurapika, her voice trailing away. "…and I've made…a promise…"

"What promise?" Machi asked with more urgency.

Kurapika's eyebrows knitted in the manner that indicated that she was fighting the drug-induced urge to tell them the answer—which was the promise she made to Ishtar. Fearing that it would result in the Kuruta breaking from the hypnosis, she decided to distract her with another question. The gears in Machi's brains were clocking and rumbling as she noted that Nobunaga had been asking questions related to Danchou only. How about the Ryodan?

"How about us? Do you intend to kill us?" She asked with steady voice.

Some of the Spiders shot her a disbelieving look, but some nodded in understanding of the logic of her question.

"…no…" came Kurapika's rather reluctant answer.

"Why?" Machi pressed on. She noticed the sure way wherein Kurapika had responded with questions regarding their Danchou, but it was not the same way with the Spiders. She was beginning to see where it was going to lead. Nonetheless, she had to make sure.

"…the truce…"

"Truce, truce, truce! What in the blazing damned hell is this 'truce' you keep blabbing about?" Nobunaga yelled in impatience.

"…I will cooperate with him to find a way to break the bind…in return he will help me collect all of the Scarlet Eyes…when everything is over, he'll leave me alone…and I will leave him and his Spiders alone…"

Phinks gave a whistle. "Nice one, Danchou."

"But I'll never get to kill this blasted brat! How will I get my revenge for Uvo?" Nobunaga yelled in indignation as he whirled around to confront his confrere, as if his right had been denied.

"Nobu, are you an idiot on top of being annoyingly loud? Truce or not, you'll never get your revenge. Danchou won't allow it." Machi rolled her eyes in exasperation. Sometimes she really wondered if the samurai had even a proper brain or not.

"It's damn obvious that Danchou's fond of this girl. You'll have to face Danchou before you can lay a hand on her." Phinks said casually as he pointed at the girl with a jerk of his chin.

"Danchou'll say something along the line: 'over my dead body', but it's really you who'll end up dead first." Feitan said with his characteristic snicker.

"You are sick. YOU ARE ALL!" Nobunaga roared as he spun on his heels to face the girl in drug-induced hypnotised state. The jealousy and rage in his small eyes were so blazing that even a blind person would not be able to miss them.

"Nobu, don't do anything stupid." Machi warned her as she strode towards the samurai, her hands flexing in dry anticipation of the upcoming skirmish.

"You witch. Not only you seduce Danchou but you also trick my comrades into defending you!" Nobunaga hissed.

"Nobu, we are only stating the obvious!" Machi's voice ascended by one pitch. "Remember the Mammon incident?"

"Speaking of that…" A malicious smile curled up Nobunaga's thin lips. "Brat! What did you tell those Mammon cowards about us? You'd better tell the truth." He said with a low growl.

"…nothing…"

Nobunaga failed to hide his surprise. The others were equally surprised.

"What did you tell them?" Nobunaga was close to roaring since he thought that the Kuruta was lying—though he knew it better that she was not but he just could not accept it.

"…Go to hell."

A vein popped in Nobunaga's forehead.

"Damn brat! I'll see to it personally that you are put out of your misery."

With his top speed, Nobunaga unsheathed his sword and brought it down in a cleaving manner, ready to split the languid girl into two bloody halves. Instead of hitting any flesh, the sword only managed to split the chair into two.

"MACHI!" Nobunaga roared.

"It wasn't me," came Machi's—for once—shocked voice from behind the samurai.

The samurai turned his head to confirm that Machi was really still behind him, and when he turned back to where the girl had been sitting a meagre second before, he really only found splinters of woods and metals; the remaining of what had been a chair before. Without so much of an effort, he spotted the blonde right away.

"Putting up a fight, eh? Fine! Let's see what you can do!"

"Nobu!" Franklin sprung into action to lock the hot-headed, short-tempered samurai in his hulking arms. That always worked.

Machi had deliberately positioned herself in front of the Kuruta, together with Shalnark. The young man with sandy brown hair was the most familiar one with the Kuruta girl among the Spider Limbs, and so he knew well enough that the girl would not harm him—well, at least she would not kill him. Machi, on the other hand, had always admired and adored Kuroro as her irreplaceable charismatic leader. If her Danchou deemed the Kuruta precious enough to be protected and trusted enough to have a truce with, she would protect the girl from unnecessary harms without even being asked to.

That was how much devotion Machi had for Kuroro Lucifer, though it had never blossomed into romance even in the coming future.

"I can't die yet…" Shalnark heard Kurapika's mutterings to herself since he was closest to her physically.

"What?"

"…I have a duty…" Kurapika said as she looked at the scars on her palms. "…I told him I won't die yet…"

Being outsiders, neither Machi nor Shalnark understood the meaning of her soliloquy. They only knew one thing for sure: so many things had happened between Kuroro and Kurapika and other people had no hope to comprehend what lay between those two former enemies. They had their own world; the two Spiders understood as much.

Suddenly, the whole interrogation thing became ridiculously pointless. Since the beginning, it was a lost cause. There was no way they could understand that strange relationship between those two people.

"…That's why…" Kurapika's eyes suddenly flashed dangerously scarlet. This alerted both of her defenders, but it was too late. "I won't let myself be killed so easily."

Before Machi and Shalnark could react, Kurapika lunged herself at Nobunaga, intending to fight him back. Enraged, Nobunaga wrenched himself free from Franklin's iron grip as the giant was rather stunned by Kurapika's sudden burst of rage.

Since the beginning, drugging the Kuruta was a bad idea, and it had gotten worse with the belated realisation that the Kuruta was renowned for her short fuse, and it had come down to the worst with the fact that the short-tempered chain-assassin was getting mentally unstable due to the drug. And it was entirely their fault.

_Curiosity be damned, Lucian!_ Machi cursed inwardly as she rushed to try to save the day.

* * *

"_Ce sa întâmplat _(What's wrong), Lucifer?" Lucian asked with innocent tone, though he had an unpleasant stirring sensation in his gut.

Kuroro had stopped in his tracks and was looking at the direction of the humble house where he had left Kurapika with his Spiders. Somehow, he was getting a bad premonition over the decision of leaving them 'under the same roof', as Kurapika dubbed it. A frown creased the space between his eyebrows and he turned to regard Lucian with one measuring look.

"What are you planning?" Kuroro was articulating his question, and whenever he used this kind of gesture, it meant that he wanted a clear, reasonable answer. And Lucian knew it—but this also spelled D-O-O-M to him.

"P—plan?" Lucian inwardly cursed his stutter. "But I'm only taking you to Anansi, as you asked me to."

"And why did you suggest not taking Kurapika with us?" His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

"Em… Because you said that you want to be the one to explain the whole thing to her?" The corner of Lucian's mouth was already twitching nervously, and this did not escape Kuroro's keen observation.

"Lucian." Kuroro said again with underlying threat in his silky voice.

Lucian gave a chocked 'eep' sound and he actually almost jumped out of his skin upon hearing the edge in Kuroro's voice. It was either good luck or bad luck for Lucian, but before he was further threatened into spilling the beans, Kuroro's head snapped back to the direction of the hut. His obsidian eyes were wide in wonder and surprise. He had felt it—Kurapika's Nen was in turbulence. Whatever that could mean, he knew it was something unpleasant.

"If I were you, I would've ignored this shitty excuse of a vampire and rushed back to Kurapika."

A calm yet amused voice rang, and Kuroro could identify it in less than a second that it belonged to Anansi. Not bothering to respond to him, Kuroro dashed towards the direction of the house but not before shooting Lucian one super hard glare.

"I told you this wouldn't be a good idea." Anansi mocked Lucian with unhidden glee.

"I was only trying to help!" He retaliated.

"How so? By trying to break the ice between her and the Spiders?" Anansi snorted in open amusement. "In any case, whatever stupid reasons you have, I strongly suggest you go after Kuroro and check how bad things have gone."

"Thank you very much for your _reassurance_." Lucian mumbled begrudgingly, but nonetheless took off in the direction of the house.

* * *

The vampire was not prepared, however, to behold the scene that was unravelling before him and Kuroro. Of all things, _this_ had to happen.

Most of the Spiders; notably Bonolenov, Coltopi, Shizuku, Feitan and Kalluto, remained safely on the sideline. Feitan chose not to meddle with the affair since he was not in the mood of fighting a half-conscious chain-assassin. Not only that, the girl seemed to have entered a delusional stage; which was probably the side-effect of the drug, since she began screaming some things that they did not understand—or chose not to understand—in response to Nobunaga's vulgar shouts.

On the hindsight, the fight was amusing in itself, seeing that Shalnark and Machi were trying to get the drug-induced raging Kuruta away from the seething samurai, while Franklin and Phinks were trying to drag the latter away from the former.

They were all so preoccupied by the ensuing chaos that they failed to notice the extra two presences that had just arrived at the scene.

"What is going on here?"

The room soon fell into pin-dropped silence.

"D, d, da, dan, Danchou…" Shalnark managed to squeak in high-pitched voice.

The 'innocent' Spiders only looked at their Danchou, then to the beyond-pale vampire, and then to the group that had been wrestling just a few seconds ago. Now, a more entertaining scene was about to play.

"Well?"

That one word was spoken so flatly and devoid of any emotions yet full of unspoken demand. He would not take silence as an answer. Lucian was so horrified by the way things had turned out to be that even the idea of running away slipped from his mind. He simply wanted to disappear into thin air—or combust into ashes in his case, perhaps, being a vampire after all.

"…Kuroro…?"

A soft voice rang surprisingly loudly in the tense silence of the room, and all heads snapped towards the owner of the voice. Crap, they all had forgotten about the drugged Kuruta. There was no way she was going to listen to reasons or even to Kuroro Lucifer. Even worse, she was in delusional stage. She could do whatever impossible things she would normally never do.

"Kurapika, what—"

Kuroro could not find his voice when his eyes landed on the Kuruta. She was a total wreck. Her face was pale and she had a cloudy stare in her scarlet eyes. She was looking at him in a very alien fashion; there was something about her that he could not really pinpoint. They stared at each other for the longest seconds ever before Kurapika's scarlet eyes suddenly burst into life, and so did her movements.

"You bastard! After what you have done to me, you think you can get away so easily, huh? I am so going to get my revenge!"

She was screeching by then and was already stomping her way to the stunned Spider Head. Everyone else was equally dumbstruck and when her words dawned to them, it was almost too late. Nobunaga was the first one to recover.

"Blast it! She's going to—"

Before anyone could move from their spot; save for Nobunaga who was trying to worm his way out of Franklin's grip, Kurapika was already in front of Kuroro and had grabbed the lapels of his shirt. She yanked him towards her and then it happened.

She pressed her lips forcefully against his.

"Now we are even…" She said with slurry voice, despite her earlier energy.

Without wasting another second, the not-really-herself Kurapika slumped against Kuroro's rigid chest and fell asleep as the sleeping spell hit her hard. When Kuroro felt her knees buckling under her dead weight, he instinctively slid his arms beneath hers and held her before she could hit the concrete. For those who had known him long enough, the look on Kuroro Lucifer's face was absolutely priceless—he was stunned, dazed, shocked, bewildered, confused, and other synonyms that existed in dictionaries, PLUS a blush albeit so slight and faint.

Another pin-drop silence filled the room. Everyone gawked at the action that the Kuruta girl had just committed, as if it was an unjustifiable crime. Then again, everyone in the room was totally at their wits' end. Nobody was entirely sure on how to explain the whole situations to Kuroro, let alone comprehending the meaning of that kiss that—of all people—Kurapika Kuruta had forced on Kuroro Lucifer. If anything, things were more delicate than they ever were. Then, Nobunaga blew it.

"Lucian, you conniving bastard! You drug is defective!"

Uh-oh.

Some of the Spiders gulped hard, while Phinks, Franklin, Shalnark, and Machi had taken the liberty of beating the light out of the imbecile excuse of a samurai.

Lucian was already dashing for his dear life towards the nearest exit—the window—when Kuroro had miraculously appeared before him and grabbed him by his collar. He still had Kurapika in his other arm, her head leaning comfortably against his chest. Kuroro's eyes were narrowed to dangerous slits, and there were murderous glints in those obsidian eyes.

"Now, I believe that a very GOOD explanation is in order," said Kuroro with his voice latched with unspoken dreadful threats.

* * *

"Goodness grief! What the—ow, ow, ow!" Kurapika clutched her throbbing head desperately and despairingly. The headache was threatening to blow her head and her fever was determined to fry her brains.

_Headache? Fever? What in the deuce is happening to me?_ She blinked several times as she struggled against the involuntary tears that were blurring her vision. The heat was driving her insane!

"Hey."

The cool, familiar voice snapped her back to reality and she forced herself to focus and to absorb the surroundings she was in. She was in a familiar room, she was lying on a familiar bed, she heard a familiar voice, and she felt a familiar cold touch of a familiar hand on her burning forehead.

"You are still having slight fever."

"SLIGHT?" She yelled hoarsely, but that was all she was capable of. Soon enough, she was coughing herself silly.

A strong arm slid beneath her back and helped to prop her up in her bed. Amidst the coughing fit, she vaguely felt some fingers forcing a pill into her mouth and the cool sensation of a glass touching her dry lips. She then found herself relishing the cooling effect of the cold water that travelled down her throat.

"Explanation?" She asked with still hoarse voice as she finished devouring the entire content of the glass with the appetite of someone who had not drunk for three days.

Kuroro put aside the glass and made her lay down on the bed before he explained the entire scheme that had been plotted behind their backs. He had extracted the details from Lucian by literally torturing the undead life out of the vampire. When he got to the drug part, Kurapika visibly blanched.

"He _freaking_ drugged me?"

"Technically, it's _they_. My Spiders drugged you, he manufactured the drug."

"Whatever." She waved a hand impatiently, dismissing the inconsequential details. "So now, what's this? I'm having a Great Hangover which is the side-effect of that stupid drug?"

"Yes." Kuroro said as he leaned against the back of the chair with his arms folded across his chest.

"Aargh! I'm GOING to get them later!" Kurapika vowed loudly despite the brain-sizzling headache.

"Don't worry, I have made sure that they stay put until you recover." Kuroro said, deliberately missing the _minor_ details on how he had handpicked the guiltiest of the party and ensured that they would not escape _their_ wraths. "When you are ready to pound the life out of them, let me know. I don't want to miss the spectacle." He said with chuckle.

Kurapika gave him a look.

"You are one hell of a twisted man, you know that?"

Kuroro gave her a Cheshire-cat grin.

"They need to learn the lesson fast, and I guess they badly need it the _extremely_ hard way. I just want to ensure that they REALLY learn it by heart now."

"How much trouble did you get through this time?"

Kuroro only shrugged. "Not as much as you did, I suppose. Although, for someone who's having a hangover, you are quite lively."

"Gee, thanks." Kurapika rolled her eyes. "You have no idea on how much this headache is killing me."

"You don't look dying at all."

"Shut up!"

Kuroro let out an amused chuckle while Kurapika curled herself into a tight ball and cussed softly under her breath as her headache returned with more vengeance. Kuroro observed the small 'ball' on the bed, his hand covering his mouth in his characteristic pondering gesture. After a while, he decided to ask away.

"How much do you remember?"

Kurapika gave a snort.

"I remember Shalnark giving me a can of soft drink. After that, I'm more or less out of my sanity."

"Is that all?" There was some hidden anticipation in his voice.

"I think—" Kurapika's eyes widened in horror upon realising the possible meaning of that 'anticipation' in his voice. She jolted up into a sitting position and gave the man a pleading look. "What did I do this time?"

"Hm?" Kuroro fought hard to conceal his smile, but his mouth was already twitching.

"Don't play dumb! That drug—what did I do in my drugged state?"

"Doing some impossible…things." He gave away the smirk and was now attempting to smother a gleeful laugh.

"What THINGS?" She was yelling then, her headache forgotten.

"Now, now, Kurapika. Don't be so worked up, it's not healthy—"

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT MY HEALTH RIGHT NOW! JUST TELL ME WHAT THE HELL DID I DO?"

"Do you want me to _tell_ you, or do you want a _demonstration_?" Kuroro continued with the same level of composure that it unnerved her to no end. He felt bad about teasing her in her hangover period, but he could not help it. The looks on her face was simply too rare to be missed.

"De—demonstration?" Her voice quavered as her eyes widened in pure horror.

Kuroro let out a devilish handsome grin, purposely misinterpreting her question for clarification as a statement of answer.

"Then demonstration it is."

* * *

"We are oh so dead." Lucian whimpered.

"This is YOUR fault! Why do you have to drag us along, you idiot vampire!" Phinks kicked his side, and the vampire gave an 'Ouf!'

"If your curiosity keeps getting us into unnecessary troubles, I will make sure that you will no longer be able to feel anymore curiosity." Machi hissed venomously from her seat while glaring daggers at the vampire; who shrank under her scorching glare. "You too, Nobu!"

The samurai had actually been sitting at the dusty corner of the room, brooding and weeping. In fact, he looked as if he would break down in tears and cried flood at any given time when given the right cue.

"_She, she… she k, k, ki—" He had stuttered, unable to finish that particular k-word._

"_Kissed Danchou." Phinks had generously offered._

"_DID that to Danchou! Poor Danchou!" Nobunaga had covered his face with both hands like those tearful maidens in some soap opera drama who were weeping for their tragic love-life._

"_Poor? I thought he rather enjoyed it." Phinks had laughed._

"_YOU!" Nobunaga had roared like a wounded lion._

"What did I do wrong this time?" The samurai snapped.

"Are you an idiot? The whole commotion was caused by you!" Machi snapped back at him.

"But she told me to go to hell!"

"Dumbass. That's what she told those Mammon assholes when they interrogated her about us."

This time, shockingly it was Feitan who answered. All heads turned to the small man, surprised that he could give an explanation to it. Nobunaga gave him a queer disbelieving look. He raised one sharp eyebrow upon seeing their ludicrous reaction.

"And how exactly did you know that, Feitan?" Phinks asked him curiously.

"Well…" Feitan shifted his legs to adjust his balance. "I simply 'interrogated' some of the 'lucky' ones."

"You mean those who still retained a bit of their original appearance before Danchou permanently altered them?" Phinks snickered with gruesome humour.

"Whatever you call it." Feitan only shrugged uncaringly. "Oh, and another trivia to amuse you: she kept saying 'I'm not a Judas'. Whatever the hell that means."

Shalnark and Machi exchanged a brief glances to each other. Judas was Kuroro's favourite character from the Bible that he would often refer to, for a reason that they did not—and would never—really comprehend. Not that it mattered for them, though.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Machi demanded.

"I never thought that would be necessary." The small bandit gave an evil smirk.

"If you have told us earlier we wouldn't have to go through all this hassle." Shalnark complained. "Now we can only wait for the worst."

Lucian sighed heavily from the corner where he was sitting in despondency.

"I'm already dead and I'm going to die all over again…" Lucian pouted.

The words were scarcely out of his mouth when an ear-splitting, blood-curdling scream thundered across the compound and shaking the house in its intensity. It sounded more like an explosion than anything else. Everyone in the vicinity jumped out of their skins out of utter surprise and shock. Birds and other animals living in the nearby greenery scampered away for dear life. When the scream died down, it was replaced by yells of indignation and wrath that virtually drowned the light-hearted laughter that accompanied them. A knowing grin graced the vampire's pale visage.

"Well, at least not today…"

* * *

Before the meaning of Kuroro's words sank into her head, she could only catch a glimpse of blurry movement, and the next thing she knew, Kuroro already had a fistful of her golden hair in his hand and he was locking her lips with his. It was a simple kiss, really, but still it was the shock of Kurapika's life. The moment Kuroro broke the kiss, it came.

Her screeching scream that ravaged the entire compound.

And then her yells of outrage accompanied by his full-blast laughter (Kurapika was too preoccupied by her embarrassment that she failed to notice this phenomenal occurrence of Kuroro Lucifer _laughing_)

"I, I… I did that?" Kurapika's face was already lobster red from the embarrassment and shame when she was finished with the yelling and screaming. Her voice had turned hoarse again, if not worse.

"Well, you said something along the line: 'Now we are even' afterwards." Kuroro's face was also flushing from the laugh.

"E—even?" She blinked in confusion.

"I guess you were referring to your first kiss." Again, the devilish grin. "Oh, you should have seen the looks on the others—"

"Others?" Her voice rose by one pitch. "Don't tell I did that in front of _them_?"

_Oh, God, please spare me this shame!_

"Every. Single. One. Of. Them." He evilly informed her. "Plus Lucian."

No such luck. That was all she needed to shut down her system in order to cope with the stress and life-killing embarrassment. Without any sounds, Kurapika passed out and fell onto the bed with a soft thud.

"Oh my…" He grinned to himself.

Kuroro wondered when the last time he was having so much fun was. Lately, things had been depressing and all prospects seemed to be gloomy—or cloudy at best. He sighed contently as he gazed at the unconscious prone form of Kurapika, whose face was still furiously blushing.

He got up and sat on the bed while his gaze was fixed on the girl. Their journey of collecting the Scarlet Eyes was coming to an end, sooner or later.

Kuroro's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at the news. It was too fun to have the girl around. Then again, at the same time he knew that it was not healthy for them to stick together for too long. Things were getting out of hands, and they both knew it despite never voicing it out loud. That was another terrifying realisation between them; they could share a thought without talking about it. It was as if they were synchronizing.

No. They were two very different beings with very different ideologies. It would be best for them to quickly finish the whole Scarlet Eyes deal and leave each other alone for the rest of their lifetime.

"You only learn not to take things for granted once you've lost something you hold dear. Isn't that too much?" Anansi's voice reached his ears softly.

The man was standing by the open window, observing the duo with plain amusement on his seemingly-grim visage. His eyes, however, were ever playful. A soft gleam flashed across Kuroro's usually cold eyes. Despite Anansi's presence, he reached out and brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. His eyes narrowed slightly as his mind spoke:

_Maybe it's time for me to start relishing my time left with you._

"Why are you here?" He asked Anansi with indifferent voice, his voice a stark contrast with his gentle gesture.

Anansi smiled to himself despite Kuroro's cold attitude to him; Kuroro allowing him to have a glimpse of his gentle side was already an achievement for him.

"I suppose you have questions for me?"

"You even made a restrainer for her." Kuroro stated as-a-matter-of-factly, not really answering Anansi's question.

"Of course." Anansi's smile broadened. "She means the world for you, doesn't she?"

Kuroro did not deny it—nor did he have any plans to ever do so.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__Just a trivia: the 'spare me from this cup of suffering, oh Lord' prayer that Shalnark uttered above was inspired by Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was captured by the Romans. Even until the last moment, Kuroro's still a selfless guy. __Sigh… __I think Kuroro's actually quite lucky to have such understanding parents (albeit they were both very weird and eccentric) _

_**Next: **__Their journey was coming to an end. When the last pair of the Scarlet Eyes was finally collected, how would things end up? Would they really part ways?_


	29. Chapter 29: A Loop of Infinity

_**Disclaimer: **__Again and again, I don't own HunterxHunter (nor will I in the near future…)_

_**Story so far: **__So Kuroro was determined to keep the truce down to the last letter, but how about Kurapika? Also, when the last pair of Scarlet Eyes was finally in their hands, what would be next?_

_**WARNING**__: This is a very LONG chapter._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter29**

_**A LOOP OF INFINITY**_

_**

* * *

**_

Two figures silently crossed the empty street of the seemingly dead town without much exchange of words. They sauntered towards a certain inn, taking their sweet time. They both were wearing formal attire, as if they had just come back from a grand party. One of them, however, was limping awkwardly with occasional frowns and scowls on her smooth face.

"Damn stiletto…Whoever invented this blasted thing must have been wishing to torture women in the most slow-yet-painful way…" She muttered softly as she visibly flinched upon taking a certain step.

She was wearing a dark royal blue halter-neck satin dress with partition on the sides from the bottom of the knee-length dress going up to her mid-thigh. Her white gloves were extended to reach her elbows. As she walked, her dress billowed around her legs, exposing a bit of her milky thighs but she could not care less about this since the street was as empty as any graveyards. The presence of the man beside her did not bother her at the very least as she did not feel the need to act self-conscious around him—even as she was fully aware that the man could get a very good deal of glimpse at her exposed skin. Not that he would ever do that, though. He could look at it all day without showing any reactions, for all she cared.

"If you ask me, the reason of your suffering now is preferably because of the fact that you have strained your legs by running all over the place and fighting with those heels on." Her companion commented airily.

The man was wearing a tuxedo, and looked like just any normal, standard gentleman if not for the headband that obscured his forehead and the blue globular earrings that inevitably stood out in the simplicity of his appearance. In one of his arms was a precious small cargo that he handled with sufficient care. He kept his gaze straight, not even trying to ogle at his companion's exposed skin—the thought had never even crossed his mind—as if he was already used to seeing them anyway.

Her scowls deepened as she fixed her hateful gaze on the said heels-straight-from-the-bowel-of-Hell, wishing that she could get rid of it as soon as possible.

"Do I have any choices? With all these straps, I'd get killed before I could even take them off properly." She hissed as her calf muscles twitched from obvious overexertion.

He raised a hand to cover his mouth and his chin as he recalled the disastrous event that turned into battlefield. He remembered the most notable moment of the event that concerned the said stiletto.

* * *

The man let out a huff as he landed on the solid, carpeted ground. He had knocked his head on the floor, but the carpet had cushioned the fall and absorbed the impact and so he was only having a slight headache from it. Before he could even do as much as lifting his head off the carpet, a sharp pointy object was shoved to his fat belly, almost making a hole through his stomach right into his gut.

The man cracked open his eyes to see his attacker, and was surprised to see the blonde girl in blue dress looming over him ominously. Her hands were akimbo and her face was virtually emitting the very essence of evil.

"Now, if you kindly give me the key to the treasuries, I may refrain myself from gutting you with my stiletto. It's especially made for _this_ kind of occasion, you know?"

Had the man been trained enough in the art of acting and pretence, he would have noticed that the girl had not meant her words and that she had no murderous intent at all in her aura. Unfortunately, Kurapika had learned to marvellously act 'evil' due to travelling with a certain S-class criminal for prolonged period of time.

Receiving no answer from the fat man, Kurapika impatiently thrust her stiletto harder into his stomach while refraining herself from really impaling the poor, scared-witless man with her stiletto. The man let out a whimper and yelp, before he started rummaging through his pocket and tossed the key to her.

Kurapika caught the key singlehandedly and grinned in satisfaction.

"How very wise of you." The man who accompanied her gave him a very cold smile.

The fat man shrunk even further when he gazed into the obsidian eyes of that handsome man—they were cold and unfeeling. He even had the impression that the man was slightly disappointed that the girl had actually not gut him like a fish with the heel of her stiletto.

The last thing he saw before he succumbed into total oblivion was the girl's face looming over his with a kind of spray ready in her hand. She gave him an almost apologetic smile, before spraying the liquid right to his face.

"Good night."

And then darkness swallowed him whole while erasing the memory of that horrid encounter with the two persons.

* * *

"But you were on Una's back all the way from the mansion to this town." He reminded her after he was finished reliving the memory, and apparently she was not too happy to be reminded.

"You," she hissed while rudely pointing her index finger to his face, "DO NOT know how painful this is since you have NEVER worn high heels before, so _shut up_."

"I'm surprised that you can complain so much about this _trivial_ pain while you had endured so much more during the Mammon incident without a word of complaints."

Kurapika's heart missed a beat, and her jaws immediately were set into tight lock. Despite her giving no complaints about the torture by the Mammon, it was still a highly disturbing memory that she would gladly forget and deleted from the memory-storage part of her brains.

She fell into heavy silence. She tried to walk as normally as she could despite the mind-numbing throbbing sensation coming from her calves. Her calf muscles were practically screaming EXHAUSTION.

Her walk was stopped when something was held up right in front of her face. She blinked once. It was the box containing the pair of Scarlet Eyes. Kurapika gave Kuroro a sideways questioning glance.

"Hold it for me for a while." He merely said.

Wordlessly, she obeyed him and took the box securely in her gloved hands. Before she knew it, however, she felt weightless as a floating sensation overcame her. The next second, realization dawned to her: she was being carried bridal style by Kuroro. She shot the man another questioning glance, but the older man was again wearing his mask of stoicism and indifference.

A small, crooked smile graced her visage.

"I'll take this as a compensation for bringing up a certain unpleasant memory."

"By all means." Came his short reply as he walked towards the Prancing Pony Inn with a new 'cargo' in his arms.

* * *

Once they were at the doorstep of their own rented room (which hosted the trap door that led to the secret storage room of their collected Scarlet Eyes), Kuroro put Kurapika down and the Kuruta girl wasted no time—aside from the several seconds used to shove the box to Kuroro's chest, forcing him to hold it—to detach the accursed heels-from-Hell and threw the said things as far away from her as possible. Kuroro observed as the unfortunate heels indiscreetly flew across the air to hit the wall in the corner of the bedroom. It seemed that those heels would have to stay there for quite a while, if not forever.

Kurapika stormed towards the bed and flopped herself down on the edge of the bed as if she had no care of the world and started relieving her calves of the throbbing sensation and her feet of the numbness by rolling her ankles slowly. She even gave a sigh of content.

Inwardly smiling to himself out of amusement, Kuroro put the box carefully on the nearest table and proceeded in 'dismantling' the accessories off him. First was the tie; which he carelessly tossed to the table and gave it no further thought. He then unbuttoned the first two buttons of his white shirt after he took off the black suit and draped it over the support of a chair.

At the same time, Kurapika began 'dismantling' her own accessories as well—earrings, necklaces, bracelets, gloves—which all were supplied by Kuroro from God-knows-where; which she did not want to find out in any ways. As she folded the gloves into a neat roll, the scars on her palms attracted her attention.

Kurapika lifted up her hands and examined the scars on her palms.

"I'm surprised that these scars didn't go away." She commented, indirectly referring to her body's extraordinary healing capability she had just discovered.

"Maybe because you don't want them to go away." Kuroro responded without looking at her direction, knowing which scars that had not gone away.

She only shrugged noncommittally.

"I guess."

Kurapika stood up and began pacing around the room aimlessly like some nervous person, but she actually was trying to accustom her legs to the level ground once more after the excruciating hours of torture with the high-heels. She felt like she was walking on clouds. Kuroro observed him as discreetly as he could.

He noticed her golden hair that now reached past her shoulder. He noticed that she had gained more curves on her slender body.

"How old are you, Kurapika?" He asked rather absentmindedly.

"…I'll be 19 soon, I suppose." She answered uncaringly, still pacing about the room incessantly.

Kuroro took one step back to deliberately study the Kuruta's whole features. Almost one and a half years had passed since the time they were bound by Hassamunnin's magic, and all those time he was almost constantly by her side, and vice versa. She was still a teenager, she was still growing up. Kuroro somehow knew (judging from her attitude, personality, and circumstances) that Kurapika was a late bloomer for a girl, but he did not care. However so, seeing the Kuruta maturing both physically and mentally gave him a strange pleasure of satisfaction.

"I'm taking the first shower." She declared, oblivious to Kuroro's stealthy scrutiny on her.

He only gave a vague "Hm" to indicate that he heard her. Kurapika then disappeared into the confinement of the bathroom attached to their bedroom. It was just convenient that the bedroom with the trap door happened to be a room for two with attached bathroom. Kurapika did have a hard time accepting the "There is only ONE freaking bed in this room!" part, though (and it was replied by a "But it's a queen-sized bed, so it should be more than enough for the two of you." from Fino, and Fino was responded by a "That is not the point!" from Kurapika).

Kuroro, on the other hand, had no objection against it.

"_Prude."_ He had teased Kurapika about it at that time, and he earned a very 'pretty' glare from her.

Silently, Kuroro took a seat and his gaze landed on the box that contained the Scarlet Eyes. He took out the Eyes from the box, put it on the table and studied it closely. It looked just the same as the others that he had collected, but this particular one seemed to bear a certain meaning to him.

He knew why, and he unconsciously muttered the reason out loud:

"The last pair of Scarlet Eyes…"

* * *

"The last pair of Scarlet Eyes…" She found herself muttering to nobody in particular in the bathroom.

Her voice was drowned by the loud splashing water from the shower against the tiled floor of the bathroom. She had undressed and was enjoying herself in the hot shower. She looked down and her finger absentmindedly traced a certain spot on her chest where her heart lay.

_The brand was supposed to be here…_she thought with slight shudder as she remembered the terrifying experience with the Mammon.

She was profoundly glad that her body—or Ishtar's essence within her, in her case—decided to heal the brand mark. If the mark had stayed, she had no idea on how she would be living her life. She might probably be haunted by nightmares more often than she already was.

She looked at her palms—the scars that Kuroro had given her in their latest battle seemed to be permanent. She recalled Kuroro's words:

_Maybe because you don't want them to go away._

Kurapika closed her eyes. Yes, that was right. She did not want the scars to go away. Let it be the reminder of her powerlessness before the Spider Head and her foolishness for letting her emotions get the better of her usually sound judgement.

She vaguely wondered if such extraordinary recovery had ever happened to Kuroro before. However, considering the old scars that were all over his body, she decided that it might have never happened. After all, Kuroro Lucifer never allowed himself to get bested by any of his opponents.

When she was done with her shower, she stepped out of the bathroom fully clothed with her hair still dripping wet. Her eyes automatically landed on the last pair of Scarlet Eyes that was perching on the table. She narrowed her eyes as an alien feelings washed over her. She was supposed to be happy now that all of her comrades' eyes had been collected, so why was she not jubilant?

"They will all be here in two more days." Kuroro informed her all of the sudden as he put down his phone.

Kurapika turned and blinked at him, not understanding the implication of his words.

"The Spiders."

Muttering a vague "Oh.", Kurapika absentmindedly took a look at the calendar in their room, but suddenly her expression turned serious and she frowned.

"Did you say two more days?"

Kuroro glanced at her. There was something unusual in her voice.

"Yes. Is something the matter?"

"Look at the date here."

Kuroro quirked one eyebrow, but nonetheless he approached Kurapika and stood right behind her. He leaned forward slightly while he took one quick look at the calendar. The moment his eyes landed on the date, a realization dawned on him.

"Ah…" He muttered as he straightened up.

Kurapika looked at him over her shoulder and gave him a knowing look.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

* * *

Kuroro was taking his shower and Kurapika was left alone in the room to ponder about one matter.

Kurapika wondered if she ought to inform Fino of the Spiders' imminent arrival or not, since the girl was the owner of the inn in a sense, after all. Deciding that it would be best for the country girl to be informed; lest she freaked out when a bunch of nasty-looking men and women came barging into the inn, Kurapika walked out of the bedroom and down the staircase.

It was in the dead of the night and so Kurapika tried to be as silent as possible as she descended the staircase. When she almost reached the bottom of the staircase, she heard voices from the dining hall of the Inn. She frowned.

_Who?_

She could only think of Fino. That girl was still wide awake when they came back; she had insisted on waiting for them with the reason that she could not lock the door before they were back. However, the question now became: _Who is Fino talking to at this hour of time? _

Kurapika tiptoed and stealthily peeked into the hall. She was surprised to see Fino alone. She fleetingly thought that the girl might have gotten drunk and was talking to herself, but she caught no smell of booze or the likes—besides, Fino was absolutely not the drinking type of girl; she was such a good girl. More curious than ever, Kurapika craned her neck further to see what the girl was up to exactly.

Her jaw almost dropped when she saw Fino holding to a certain gadget and was talking to it.

_A cell phone? Since when—_

Fino was the typical country bumpkin girl who lived in a remote countryside. Kurapika was sure that Fino had never even touched a cell phone before, much less owning it or even _operating_ it. She figured that the clueless girl might just inundate her with some silly questions about the gadget such as "What are the buttons for?" or "It can speak?" or "What kind of magic do you employ to use this candy-bar look alike thingie?"

Suddenly, a thought occurred in her mind.

_Cell phone?_

Talking about cell phone, only one figure came to her mind.

Without wasting another second, Kurapika hurried back into her—and Kuroro's—bedroom. She was still aware enough to make no noise when she retreated to her room, though, so as not to startle the life out of the innkeeper's daughter.

"Kuroro!" She partially bellowed once she was in the room.

The said man turned his head to give her a very surprised and bewildered look. Kuroro had just finished his shower and his hair was still dripping wet, with a towel hanging around his neck. By the God's grace he was fully clothed and Kurapika was profoundly grateful for that. She did not want to have another scene like when Leorio sauntered out of the bathroom stark naked. Only God knew how she would react to that—and this was Kuroro Lucifer she was dealing with.

Kuroro raised an eyebrow when he saw Kurapika's flushed face and the flustered expression on her face.

"Is something wrong?" He asked calmly.

"Fin—" She paused.

Kuroro raised both eyebrows.

"Fin?"

"No, no, no. I mean—Shalnark!"

Kuroro turned around to fully face the girl—she was talking rather incoherently and it seemed to require his full attention to actually comprehend her.

"Shalnark?"

Kurapika squeezed shut her eyes and rubbed her temples, obviously trying to calm down whatever whirlwind of matters that was whacking her minds. She tried sorting out the innumerable questions in mind and began with the easiest one.

"Has…No. When was the last time Shalnark come here?"

Kuroro frowned. What was with the question?

"I'm not sure. We, Spiders, do not tell each other of our private business. Why do you ask?"

Kurapika frowned and bit her lower lips, showing her hesitance to voice out her question.

"Do you know, by any chance, if Shalnark and Fino happen to know each other?"

Ah.

Kuroro smiled at this. He knew where she was getting at.

"Mmhmm…" He hummed playfully while crossing his arms and resting most of his weight on one leg. "I happen to know that." He still remembered the time when Shalnark commented that 'Fino is such a good girl'. "So what happened downstairs?"

Kurapika narrowed her eyes.

_I knew it. It really was Shalnark._

And so Kurapika began telling him of what she had seen downstairs concerning Fino. By the time Kurapika was finished with her short recount, Kuroro had his eyebrows quirked into quizzical yet amused arches. He could not help but to be ridiculously amused although he had seen it coming since the beginning.

"A country bumpkin girl like Fino with a tech-savvy man like Shalnark? That is…" his lips twisted into a mischievous smile, "…highly entertaining."

"Don't make people's relationship your entertainment!" She chided him lightly. "Besides, I _don't_ approve of their relationship!"

Kuroro regarded her with a very questioning look.

"Reason being?"

"Fino is such an innocent girl. I can't let her be associated, much less in a relationship, with a criminal like Shalnark."

Despite Shalnark's boyish appearance and innocent impression, she knew better that he was still Genei Ryodan's cold-blooded member who was perfectly capable of murdering the masses when ordered to.

"You are such a Mother Hen." Kuroro sighed. "You should just mind your own business."

"Well, sorry for being such a worry-wart but I can't help it." She huffed and had spun on her heels.

She walked towards the only door of their bedroom and tried opening the door but it surprisingly would not budge. Only then she belatedly took note of the shadow looming over her _and_ the presence of an arm next to her head and pressed against the solid form of the door. Kurapika glanced over her shoulder to throw a nasty glare at Kuroro; who was obviously the one 'locking' the door with his arm.

"And where are you going, young lady?" He asked with velvety voice.

Kurapika flinched. The last time he used that voice and the word 'young lady', she had ended up losing a portion of her fringe in the hands of the Spider Head (that was the time when Kuroro had trimmed her fringe without her permission). She had badly needed an emergency hair trim at that time, though. This time she was unsure on what would happen.

"Downstairs. To Fino. Obviously." She stated each word firmly.

"And what are you going to do?" He asked with the same velvety tone that was making the hair on her nape rose.

"Warn her of a danger called 'Shalnark'." She answered as-a-matter-of-factly.

"I believe that such action is unnecessary."

"You have no right to say that. After all, you are Shalnark's boss." She said fiercely.

The hard-to-argue-against Kurapika was resurfacing, and Kuroro was pleased. He was going to have another fun night arguing with her. It was never boring to argue against her.

"That may be right, but what makes you have the right to decide what is good and what is bad for Fino?" He countered with even voice.

"Fino knows nothing of the Genei Ryodan. Obviously I have to at least give her the rough idea on what Shalnark's real job is. That isn't fair. I don't want her to feel cheated by him."

"What makes you think that she doesn't know of Shalnark's occupation?"

Kurapika froze. "She knows?"

"I wasn't saying that." Kuroro's grin widened.

Kurapika scowled deeply. "Then I am going to find out about that."

She turned her attention to the doorknob and tried pulling it again but the door still would not budge.

"Kuroro!" She cried out in exasperation. The man could be so annoyingly childish at times.

"I propose that we observe how things go first." He said coolly.

"And wait until the worst come? No. I don't want to risk anything. Let me off to her, Kuroro." She growled to him.

"No."

"Get your hand off the door."

"Make me."

Kurapika spun on her heels and turned to glare daggers at him. If she was serious, she could employ her Emperor Time ability and with her Reinforcement Nen she could easily beat Kuroro in terms of raw strength. But if she was to do that, a certain door might get wasted and she knew that the man was aware of that fact as well—he knew that she would not do such rash action.

_The devil…_she cussed in her mind.

Taking a very deep breath to calm down while closing her eyes, Kurapika began racking her brains to find solution to this _delicate_ situation. When she finally opened her eyes with a renewed resolution, Kuroro was still in the exact same position he had been assuming for the past few minutes. He still had that cheeky grin on his face. Oh, how she was so itching to punch that grin off his face.

"Fine." She finally breathed out. "I will not bother them for now. BUT—" She rewarded him a death glare. "I am going to interrogate Shalnark the moment he reaches this place AND you are not allowed to inform him beforehand of my intention. Agreed?"

Kuroro used his other hand to cover his mouth—his trademark thinking gesture—and thought over it for a few seconds before nodding.

"Agreed."

Then he released his hold on the door and went over to the bed. The queen-sized bed.

_Oh, great._

Kurapika rolled her eyes. Begrudgingly, she had actually gotten SO used to sleeping in the same bed with Kuroro that it finally came to alarm her. She realised this as one of the symptoms of attachment, and attachment to Kuroro Lucifer would bring nothing but misery to her in the future.

Nevertheless, without even voicing that thought for the last one and a half year, Kurapika climbed to bed and took her own designated place at the opposite end of the bed. They usually slept with their backs facing each other. Personally to Kurapika, it gave her a feeling of security.

Without sparing each other a 'Goodnight', they both drifted to their own peaceful slumber.

* * *

"We are getting married."

That was what Kuroro Lucifer told his Spiders the moment they all assembled before him in the Prancing Pony Inn. At that time, however, Kurapika was absent as she was helping Fino with something. The hall was still relatively quiet and scarce of customers since it was still in a very early morning.

Every Spider stopped doing whatever business they were doing and froze. Every single one of them held their breath. Nobunaga was the one making the loudest—and the only—noise in the room as he began tripping over his own foot and scrambled into a heap onto the wooden floor.

"Come again?" Phinks managed to ask, but his voice sounded more like the squeaky voice of a squashed rat.

"We are getting _married._" Kuroro generously repeated, articulating every word and emphasising the last word purposefully.

This time, his words without fail earned the satisfactory reaction he had expected—every each one of them had their mouths hanging agape gracelessly and their eyes were bulging, threatening to pop out of their sockets at any given time.

At the same time, Kurapika entered the hall in her usual fashion, clueless about the 'calm before storm' condition that the Spiders were in at that time. All eyes were averted to her and she immediately stiffened in her tracks. She looked up and noticed the strange looks that the Spiders were giving her. She frowned at them, a bit warily and suspiciously.

Nobunaga was still recovering from the shock on the floor, and was quite forgotten by his fellow Spiders.

"What?" She demanded.

"Is it true?" Shalnark finally spoke up, his voice trembling in something akin to nervousness and excitement at the same time.

Kurapika's frown deepened.

"What are you talking about?"

"You are getting _married_ to Danchou?" Phinks asked with his eyes as wide as a saucer.

The Kuruta girl's eyes widened to their maximum size, before she turned to Kuroro and gave him a deathly glare. Kuroro remained unfazed, though.

"YOU TOLD THEM?"

Loud gasps came from the Spiders. Nobunaga was on the verge of passing out again, the colour had all but completely drained from his face. Kurapika's cry of indignation only served to confirm Kuroro's earlier declaration of their marriage.

Then, a whole lot of activities happened at the same time.

"CONGRATULATIONS!"

"WHAT THE—? NO WAY! You gotta be joking!"

"Are you kidding, Danchou?"

"I knew this! I saw this coming!"

"You should've told us sooner, Danchou."

"Wow…"

"When is the party?"

"Since when have you two decided?"

"Took you long enough to reach that stage."

"Parties!"

Ten different reactions from ten different people at the exact same time—even Coltopi and Bonolenov had contributed to the 'ten responses'. That was a very rare thing to happen. It seemed that the news was so unexpected that the two seemingly-mute Spiders decided to speak up at very long last.

Kurapika was clearly overwhelmed by the reactions she was receiving as she could only manage to stand in a shocked daze, but Kuroro was utterly calm and collected as if he had anticipated this outrageous reception from the very beginning. Wordlessly he raised his hand to the air and the room immediately fell into pin-drop silence.

"One by one." He simply said.

And everyone began talking at the same time again.

Kuroro narrowed his eyes to dangerous slits, and the room fell into heavy silence once again.

"I'm first!" Nobunaga exclaimed as he scrambled to his feet and marched towards his Danchou with his jaws set with determination yet his big, round eyes were clearly reflecting the horror within him.

"Yes, Nobu?" Kuroro asked coolly.

"Tell me that this is just some sick joke." He said, and added, "please?"

"Unfortunately," Kuroro smiled almost too kindly—which sent shivers down the samurai's back—and reached to lift Kurapika's hand while lifting his other hand as well. He showed them the almost identical rings they both wore in their ring fingers. "It's not."

Kurapika scowled as Kuroro did this and looked away, but she did not snap her hand away from the older man's clutch.

Then Nobunaga passed out for real.

And nobody bothered to catch him in his fall.

"Since when are you two together, Danchou?" Machi took one step, taking her turn to question the supposedly newlyweds.

Kuroro and Kurapika exchanged a quick look.

"Since when, Kurapika?"

The said girl only shrugged uncaringly. "I don't remember. Didn't even record down the exact date."

Loud murmurs of heated discussion on "how" and "when" erupted amongst the Spiders. Kurapika only rolled her eyes and announced that she was going back to her room. She quickly took her leave, a bit too hastily, and was soon joined by Kuroro. When she reached the staircase, she was already half-jogging. When she reached the room, she quickly sat on the bed while Kuroro calmly closed the door behind him

Unable to hold it anymore, Kurapika let out the suppressed bone-jarring laughter out of her system; which soon turned into hysterics. Even Kuroro had to join in the laughing session upon recalling the myriads of priceless expressions on the faces of his Spiders.

"That—" Kurapika started with shaky voice, still unstable from the overexcitement, "was the best April Fools joke I have ever done."

She then fell into the laughing spell again, this time tearfully.

"I am surprised that you were _more_ than willing to go with my plan."

"Is that something wrong?" Kurapika asked while wiping away the tears from her face. "Besides, it's really worth the act."

"No. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that." Kuroro chuckled.

Inwardly, Kuroro was generously triumphant though he knew that the girl might not be aware of it. He had killed two birds with one stone—while executing the wonderfully-beyond-convincing April Fools prank on his own Spiders, at the same time he had distracted her enough with meticulous planning and the resulting commotions to make her forget about interrogating Shalnark about his 'relationship or whatever else' with Fino. He had just spared him some absolute tortures in the hand of a certain Kuruta.

_He should really thank me,_ he fleetingly thought.

However, there was one error in their plan: they didn't tell them at the end of their prank that it was an April Fools joke.

* * *

"Kuruta."

The said Kuruta; who was currently reading newspaper, looked up and was honestly surprised to see a certain samurai standing right in front of her. Her expression instantly turned blatantly wary. She had not seen any other Spiders nearby. Now what in the blazes did this occasionally-maniacal-and-homicidal samurai want to do with her?

"Yes?" She responded coolly.

Nobunaga raised an eyebrow.

"Being very civilised, aren't we?"

Kurapika frowned.

"If you are here just to have some verbal spars me, then you are wasting your time. Go away, Nobunaga." Kurapika gave a short snort and went back to her newspaper. "I'm not in the mood."

Nobunaga gave her a grand scowl, but said nothing as he dragged a chair and flopped down right in front of her. Kurapika looked up from her newspaper again and gave him a questioning look. Nobunaga said nothing but his expression showed the inner struggle he was having. He folded his arms across his chest and stared down at the table.

It was remarkably plain and clean.

"I've been thinking since this morning…"

_Do I care what you're thinking about?_ Kurapika wanted to retort, but politely kept it to her own heart. It was only the evening of the infamous April Fools Day. Kurapika wanted to prepare herself in case Nobunaga was up for another prank for revenge.

"You didn't betray any information about us to the Mammon."

"No, I didn't." She shrugged uncaringly. Apparently, half-listening to the half-hearted samurai would suffice. It would seem that Nobunaga's rambling did not require as much attention from her.

Nobunaga's eyes were still fixed on a certain spot on the table.

"About you and Danchou…"

Kurapika's eyebrows quirked. Somehow, she felt a bad wind coming her way.

"So you are part of us now…Right?" He asked with small voice, as if afraid of even asking it out loud.

"No." She answered curtly.

"But you are married to Danchou!" He exclaimed.

Kurapika looked up from her newspaper for the third time since Nobunaga had appeared and gave him a very horrified look. Nobunaga sank in his chair upon seeing that look. It gave him the impression that he had just uttered something ultimately ridiculous and beyond stupid. It made him feel very self-conscious and defensive.

"You two said it this morning!"

"Oh, God…" Kurapika muttered almost inaudibly, but inwardly she did not know whether she was supposed to be gleeful at the samurai's unexpected gullibility or to feel exasperated and embarrassed.

"What is today's date?" She asked slowly.

"Huh? What does that—"

"Just answer me." She cut off.

Nobunaga scowled, but answered nonetheless. "1st of April. So what?"

Kurapika slapped her forehead not too forcefully.

"What? What's your problem?" Nobunaga exclaimed in honest bewilderment. He started to think that he was missing some very crucial information here.

"Have you ever heard of April Fools Day?"

"Duh, of course." Nobunaga rolled his eyes. "So what—" He stopped. "Wait a goddamn minute…"

Kurapika gave him a wry smile.

"Get it?"

"SO IT'S A JOKE, AFTER ALL?" He roared, startling the life out of the few customers present in the dining hall.

"Keep your volume down!" Kurapika hissed as she threw worried glances to those frightened customers.

"THE HELL! And to think that I'm already preparing myself to accept it!"

Now it was Kurapika who was genuinely startled.

"You accept it?" She asked with an expression of I-am-seeing-a-two-headed-Nobunaga.

"Y—yeah! To be honest, damn, yeah! Everyone else does, too! Damn! Shit! You're all sick!"

When Nobunaga stormed out of the inn with face flushed beetroot, Kurapika was rendered utterly speechless. Nobunaga, of all people, accepted the (untrue) fact that they were getting married? Wow, that was really something worth recognising. However astounded Kurapika was, she knew that negative implication of Nobunaga's statement.

_Everyone else does, too!_

"Oh, no, no, no…"

Abruptly Kurapika stood up from her seat and rushed like a demon possessed searching for the other Spiders—that would be the first time she ever searched for Ryodan members without intention of killing them. The whole ruse was a miscalculation and it was backfiring—Kurapika Kuruta was in panic of setting things right.

When she spotted Shalnark—her first victim to-be—she hurried towards him. All matter about interrogating him about his relationship (or the likes) with Fino was thrown out of the window.

"Shalnark!"

The said young man turned to look at her direction upon hearing his name. He gave a mortified expression and his face visibly blanched.

"I need to talk with y—" Kurapika was already snarling viciously, but she never managed to finish the sentence as a bulk of something crashed into her, sending the blessed air out of her lungs.

"KURAPIKA!" It was Fino, and her expression was so beaming with joy it was virtually shining like the Buddha's face.

Kurapika; who was still disoriented and dizzy from the impact of the collision, hardly registered the jubilance in Fino's expression and voice.

"YOU ARE GETTING MARRIED!"

That got her full attention. All colours were drained from her face but she still had not found her voice yet. By then Fino was already squealing in delight and was holding her hands, bouncing in overflowing joy and looking at her onyx-silver ring (which belonged to Kuroro and she had conveniently forgotten to remove) endearingly while exclaiming:

"I knew it! So this is your engagement ring, huh? How inattentive of me. I should have known ages ago!"

"N—No. Fino, that's not it. You are getting the wrong ide—"

"Oh, this calls for a celebration! Right?" Fino turned to Shalnark, who by then had recovered himself and was grinning mischievously.

"Of course! I will call the others!"

"NO! SHALNARK, YOU STAY RIGHT HERE AND DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!"

But her yell fell on deaf ears. In less than a minute, all Spiders had gathered together (she had no idea on how the hell he managed to achieve that kind of efficiency) for a celebration—minus Nobunaga who was still contemplating hara-kiri for committing such embarrassing mistake of not realizing the April Fools prank—and Kuroro who had gone for some 'business' he had not specified. Kurapika had not bothered to ask him of what kind of business, but now she highly suspected that this turn of event was in his calculation.

"That sly devil!" Kurapika got her new cell phone—the previous one was looted by the Mammon and was destroyed in the process—and began dialling a number when the phone was snatched away from her hand.

"Nope. You are not calling for help." Phinks had an ear-to-ear Cheshire-cat grin on his eyebrow-less face, while tucking the phone into his own pocket.

Suddenly, Kurapika found herself surrounded by the Spiders and a dangerously enthusiastic Fino. She had never been in a more perilous situation before. This was beyond life-threatening. This was sanity-threatening and to Kurapika, losing her sanity was worse than losing her life.

"LET'S PARTY!"

* * *

"…Do I want to know what has exactly happened while I was away?"

The Prancing Pony Inn looked perfectly fine from the outside, and so did the interior. However, everything changed the moment Kuroro stepped into his bedroom. Well, it was not such an outrageous change; in fact, there were only some slight changes in the room.

One, he noticed some very fine article of what he suspected was the forgotten remnants of a party of some sort—confetti. Two, he noticed that the room had been tidied up in a very rushed manner (it was not so obvious to commoner's eyes but he was Kuroro Lucifer and of course he noticed the handiwork of his own Spiders). Three, Kurapika was curling like a ball on the bed with Fino tending to her.

Right. Something disastrous had happened. There was no mistaking it.

"…Oh, you _don't_ _want_ to know but you _must_ know of what your Spiders have done to me…" Kurapika answered with sickly voice.

_I knew it_.

"What happened, Fino?" He asked the innkeeper's daughter, whom he could see was having a guilty conscience.

"Um…Well…" Fino could not look at him in the eyes, so she told the whole story to Kuroro while keeping her stare to the bed sheet which had suddenly become very eye-catching.

Long story cut short, they all had swung a party in the room and some of them had forced champagne—provided by Fino and thus the reason for her guilty conscience—down Kurapika's throat. Despite being the chain-assassin, Kurapika could do nothing against a throng of Spiders who were determined to make her swallow the wretched drink. Some of them were genuinely clueless that Kurapika had extremely low tolerance to alcohols and wines. Shalnark had been too belated in informing them of that very crucial piece of information. Kurapika had instantly turned very ill the moment the champagne was in her gut. Hastily, all Spiders had retreated while clearing away all evidence but unfortunately they had missed a few pieces of confetti.

"I see." Kuroro muttered once she was done with the whole party fiasco.

"Really, Kuroro…" Kurapika started with the still-very-sickly voice. "If you don't tell your blasted Spiders…" she groaned, "… to leave me alone…I may end up making a new vow of taking my revenge on them for all these hassles…and sufferings they've inflicted upon me!"

"I'll keep that in mind." He said with a light chuckle.

Kurapika turned to give him a glare.

"Why do I have the feeling that you sound so happy to see me in this pitiful state?" She accused him.

"Do I sound happy?" Kuroro mustered an incredulous expression.

Kurapika narrowed her eyes.

"Where were you?"

"You don't have to know. It's private business." He said with dismissive tone, signalling that he would not talk more than he already did about his 'private business'.

Kurapika caught on the message crystal-clear and thus she did not pursue the matter further. With an irritated "Hn.", she dropped the matter. In Fino's eyes, as the third person in the room, all she saw was an agreeable couple who knew exactly how to handle each other. Suddenly feeling that she might not be wanted in the room, Fino sheepishly excused herself from their presence and scurried away from the bedroom.

Kuroro studied Kurapika's curling figure. Honestly, he had not expected things to turn out this way, but conveniently it was all going in his favour.

"With the way things are, I suppose we need to change the arrangement."

A groan escaped Kurapika's mouth.

"I'll leave that to you. Just give me some time to recover from this ridiculous hangover…"

Wordlessly he took out his cell phone and sent a message to one of his Spiders. In a few minutes, all of them were already faithfully assembled before him—and all of them could not quite look at him in the eyes.

"I have nothing to say about what has occurred in this room." He generously stated.

A look of relief washed over the faces of the Spiders, except for Nobunaga who was blinking in confusion and was asking around: "What the hell happened?" Nobody answered him, though.

"I will brief you about your assignment."

At the mention of it, all of them snapped into attention. Kurapika; sick as she was, observed them silently as Kuroro gave out his order.

"Shalnark, Machi, Franklin, Phinks, Shizuku and Nobunaga. Six of you are to take four pairs of Scarlet Eyes each ("Why me?" came from Nobunaga). The rest are to take three pairs of Scarlet Eyes and bring them to the Kuruta Village. Form a group of two or three. Take any routes and modes of transportation of your preference. Time limit is three days starting tomorrow. You may leave today or tomorrow. Any questions?"

Silence ensued. The order was simple and crystal-clear.

"Good. Mission initiated."

Without further exchange of words they all grabbed their assigned number of pairs of Scarlet Eyes for each one of them and split up, leaving Kuroro with Kurapika once again.

"Why are you making them carry all of the Eyes? You slave-driver." Kurapika muttered.

"I will have my hands full with you. You don't seem like you will recover in due time."

"Due time? What are you talking about?" Her voice was rather slurry from her hangover. "Wait... Come to think of it, you only give three days for them to reach Rukuso Mountain. Isn't that too little?"

"No. They will make it on time." He responded confidently. He knew his Spiders' capabilities well enough to make a sound judgement that they would not protest against.

"Why the rush?" She asked again, unable to grasp any plans that the Spider Head might have.

Kuroro only gave her a mystifying smile.

"That is for you to find out."

* * *

"Now will you honestly tell me what on Earth is this rushing all about?" Kurapika demanded to the man holding her as she staggered on the solid ground.

She was dizzy and disoriented. Three full days of mad horse-riding at neck-breaking speed! They rarely stopped, only did so to take a short break for meal and sleep, before they took off with the same demon-possessed speed again. The morning after the April Fools Day, Kurapika had woken up to find herself in Kuroro's arms, dressed in her tribal attire (Kuroro had generously informed that Fino was the one who changed her clothes) and they were already riding Una. She had been freaked out, but her hangover had not receded yet and so she could not make any fuss about it. She could only helplessly stay in his arms while battling her hangover.

Kuroro was of no help either. He had been unnervingly silent during the whole journey, only speaking when he was checking on Una to make sure that she was still up for the gallop-as-if-your-life-depends-on-it job. Kurapika had been astounded that the Unicorn was nowhere near exhausted. She had yet to break a sweat, even.

"Honestly…" Kuroro started. He let go of Kurapika and studied her briefly, before he spoke up again, "I don't know whether to be surprised or not to find that you have forgotten your own birthday."

Kurapika blinked.

"What?"

Kuroro did not respond to her forthwith; instead, he walked away into the destroyed village, hands in pockets. Snapping herself into focus once more, she quickly caught up with the man and walked a few paces behind him. They walked in silence as Kuroro led the way.

When the Spider Head finally stopped walking, Kurapika was surprised to find themselves standing before the crude graveyards that she had made almost six years ago. They were still in their original appearance; as if nature had not been able to touched them.

Kurapika took one shaky step as she scanned the slightly messy graveyards. When she looked up to her side, she found Kuroro observing her face. His face was expressionless and betrayed nothing of his feelings or emotions; if he had any at the moment. From the looks on her face, Kuroro knew that she wanted some explanation.

"I thought perhaps you might want to bury the Eyes near where you buried the bodies. So I told my Spiders to find the graves." He turned to look at the graves. "They really are made by the hands of a kid."

"This is…" Her voice was quivering. She swallowed once before she asked again in a whispery voice: "Why?"

"I suppose I've already told you long time ago that from time to time the Genei Ryodan does charity works as well?" He offered.

"Y—yes but—" She did not know what to say.

"Don't fret too much about it, Kurapika. Just do whatever you need to do. Take all the time you need."

He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and then he slid them off her shoulder and he began walking away. In the instant, Kurapika felt a pang of panic as she heard him pacing away from her. She whirled her body to face him and without thinking further she cried out:

"WAIT!"

Kuroro did stop in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder and saw the Kuruta girl surprised by her own action. Apparently she had done it out of pure instinct; she seemed so lost on what to say.

"I'll be waiting for you until you are finished." He reassured her, knowing of why she had called out to him.

With that, he turned around and disappeared among the clusters of trees of the forest that surrounded the deserted village.

Kurapika was left alone to do all she desired with the Eyes. She looked around and noticed that a spade had been kindly put nearby, no doubt by one of the Spiders. Her guess had been Shalnark—he seemed to be the most considerate among the others. She looked at the Eyes; all staring blankly at her. She looked at the graveyards; lonely and sad.

Slowly, she made her way to the Scarlet Eyes and knelt in front of the largest compartment: the one that contained her brother's head. She took it in her hands and spoke to it softly.

"Aniki, that man is insane. To think that this is my birthday gift from him…"

It was the first birthday gift she had ever received after six long years.

Kurapika could not help but to cry.

* * *

When Kurapika finally found Kuroro, it was already late evening. The sky was basked in its orange hue, with the clouds gathered low around the horizon. The man was standing at the edge of a hill that overlooked the valley. He stood facing the valley, his back to Kurapika when she approached him silently.

She only stood by his side briefly before she took a seat on the grassy ground next to him. She then hugged her knees as the chilly evening blew across the hill. Kuroro looked down and observed her.

Her eyes were bloodshot; the tell-tale sign that she had cried river. He was not surprised to see it. It was just normal; she was a human after all—a human brought up in a normal society much unlike him. Her hands were rather calloused and dirty and so was her tribal attire, no doubt the result of digging and handling dirt as she buried those Eyes.

He then averted his gaze from the girl and studied the landscape absentmindedly once more. After a few minutes of amiable silence, he finally spoke up:

"Now all that's left is to finalise the truce."

"…Yeah…" She muttered half-heartedly.

Truth to be said, Kuroro had desired to get her to join the Genei Ryodan so that he could always keep her near him and had her entertain him with their silly-trivial squabbles, BUT he was NOT going to do that. As Kurapika busied herself with her Scarlet Eyes affair, Kuroro had used those hours to ponder on what he wanted to do next. As far as Kurapika was concerned, he knew for sure that he wanted her to have nothing to do with any strange encounters they had been dealing with. He wanted her to go back to her normal life, and had nothing to do with him and the abnormalities around him.

As much as he enjoyed her companionship, he knew that things would not work out smoothly. The difference between them was too great. They lived in different worlds. As he had mentioned before, things were getting out of hands as of late.

Simply put, he wanted her out of his life for the betterment of both of them.

But at the same time, a piece of him wanted her all for himself.

In the end, the logical and selfless part of him won the argument.

"What are you going to do onwards?"

"Why do you care?" She asked, her voice flat and emotionless.

He shrugged. "Habits, I suppose."

Kurapika allowed herself a small smile.

"Honestly, I don't know. I have no idea…"

Even her voice seemed lost and aimless, as was her coming life without her revenge-filled goal. She recalled her promise to Ishtar to 'look after' Kuroro, but she knew that it was not going to happen. Somehow, she knew that it would be best for them to stay away from each other; and she knew that Kuroro felt the same way too.

"A zenni for your thought?" Kuroro suddenly inquired.

Kurapika stayed silence for so long that Kuroro thought that she was not going to answer, when she suddenly spoke up: "…My promise to Ishtar…"

"Consider it done."

The response came so abruptly and firm that it had Kurapika taken aback.

"But—"

"You have done your part, Kurapika. You owe her nothing more." He said with finality in his voice.

She knew that he would not have any further argument against his decision. Kurapika decided not to be difficult. She then remained silent.

Her thoughts then drifted to her past times. She remembered the times when she fought with her parents, when they scolded her for being utterly careless, and when they showered her with unconditional love. She remembered the blissful time she spent with her brother. She remembered the fun with her friends. She remembered the harsh training with her Master. She remembered her carefree life during that peaceful time.

But all those had been shattered into splinters by the Genei Ryodan; the Spiders.

And here, standing next to her in her destroyed village, was the head of them.

And he was the same person who had repeatedly saved her life and helped her collected ALL of the Scarlet Eyes in less than two years—a feat that would have taken more then a decade to finish if she was to do it on her own.

Kurapika shook her head slowly to rid herself of that bitterness. She had had enough of living a bitter life. She could not help, though, to imagine how things would have been if the Genei Ryodan had not massacred her tribe.

"If the massacre hadn't occurred…" She heard herself muttering softly. It was loud enough to reach Kuroro's ears, making the man turned around the look at her with his dark eyes.

"If it hadn't happened…" She repeated with a faraway look on her face, "I would have grown as a very normal girl…Perhaps I'd be a country bumpkin girl like Fino."

She smiled upon remembering Fino.

"I'd grow up ignorant of the issues and conflicts in the world, living a carefree life in a secluded village surrounded by thick forests in the middle of a mountain." She continued. "A normal teenager with average fighting skill. Growing up, studying with friends, having fun, falling in love, have a boyfriend, getting married," she paused for a moment and narrowed her eyes slightly, giving a sleepy impression on her face, "having children, taking care of my own family."

"A very normal life." He concluded.

"Very much normal, indeed." She nodded in affirmation.

"But it never happened." He said softly.

Kurapika shook her head in silence, and her gaze landed on the onyx-silver ring that encircled her ring finger—a ring to protect her from Ishtar's essence in her blood. She gave a husky whisper:

"It will never."

Silence filled the space between them again. Kuroro looked away, observing the sky that had been tinted orangey red by the setting sun in the horizon. The red light cast a forlorn shade on the Kuruta girl sitting on the grass on top of the small hill.

_A scene fitting for weeping and mourning,_ he commented dryly with almost bored tone. Not that he disrespected the Kuruta, though.

"Looks like…" Kurapika started again.

It appeared that she was really in the mood of having a soliloquy. Out of respect, Kuroro listened to her and showed that he really was paying attention. After all, if she was feeling distraught, he was the one to blame—he was the one who had planned the massacre of her tribe.

"…my life is a complete, twisted loop…"

With that sentence escaping from her mouth, Kurapika absentmindedly fingered Ishtar's memento ring in her finger. Kuroro waited patiently as she had yet to finish her sentence.

"I set out from the village as a boy, determined to collect my comrades' eyes and hunted down every single member of the Genei Ryodan. Now I come back as my original female self with all Scarlet Eyes collected, accompanied by none of other than the head of the Genei Ryodan…"

_What an irony, _Kuroro thought fleetingly.

He was not too sure on what to make of Kurapika's words. Her words had very vague implication, if nothing at all. It sounded more like a random thought with no real purpose. What was her point? Dismissing it as the expression of her melancholy, Kuroro turned to study her briefly, before asking:

"Do you still want your revenge?"

Kurapika stayed silence for a while, not giving him the answer forthwith, before she finally shook her head slowly. She then buried her face in her knees and hugged her legs closer to her—as if she was cold. Kuroro stared at her for a while longer, before he shifted so that he was kneeling right in front of her. He snaked one hand into the opening between her lowered head and her arm, taking hold of her chin and tilted her head up so that his gaze met her.

The girl gave no resistance whatsoever against his gesture and touch.

He searched into her oceanic blue eyes for something she could not really tell, while she merely gazed back into the bottomless abyss of his obsidian eyes.

"Remember the time when I told you that you are free to get your revenge?"

Kurapika blinked at his unexpected question. The scene then flashed before her eyes as if it happened just yesterday, the conversation forever committed to her memory:

They had been traversing a forest in search of the nearest civilization after they had revisited their pasts by means of the Phoenix's fire.

"_Kurapika__. When we are done with all these…binding matters, you are free to solicit your revenge from me."_

"_What?" _

"_It is your right__. After all, I might have done the same, if I were you. But when the time comes, don't think that I'll go easy on you." _

"_Hmph! Be my guest." _

"I remember." She answered without looking away from him.

Kuroro smiled at her, obviously pleased that she remembered though she wondered on why it even remotely pleased him.

"That promise still holds true." He said.

_Is that even a promise?_ She wondered inwardly.

As she pondered over it rather slowly, Kuroro took his time taking Kurapika's hand with his other hand and fingered her ring finger. She had not replaced his onyx-silver ring from her ring finger. He did not know whether she had purposely and conveniently forgotten to replace the ring or not, but it did not matter. In fact, he had not removed her aquamarine-silver ring from his ring finger, either.

Somehow, both unanimously decided to keep the rings where they were.

_Both are restrainers, so it doesn't really matter even if we exchange our rings,_ Kuroro had thought.

"The moment I step out of this village, the truce will be finalised and in effect." He said while fixing his gaze on the ring.

Kurapika looked up and gave him a questioning look.

Without elaborating more, Kuroro bent down and kissed the ring on her finger lightly. Kurapika's eyes widened. He then raised his head and leaned forward to place a very gentle, chaste kiss on her cheek. Kurapika by then was as still as a marble statue.

When Kuroro withdrew slightly from her face, he could see the utter bewilderment and puzzlement in her expression, but he sighted no fury or indignation at the slightest tinge at all. He gave her a thin sincere smile.

"Goodbye."

Then he stood up, letting her hand slid off from his, and walked away. Kurapika was speechless and she could only stare dumbly at his retreating back.

He never looked back until he completely disappeared from her view.

He never waited for her response.

* * *

She knelt in front of the roughly 6-years-old grave of her older brother. Dusk was already falling and the village was completely dark with no light whatsoever to shed even the faintest illumination. Kurapika, however, had no problem with the darkness.

"I guess it's a 'turning a new leaf and start over on a new empty page', huh?" She muttered softly and almost inaudibly, "…aniki…"

Only the wind answered him with its wordless howl and breeze. Her golden strands of hair danced along with the wind. After a while of silence, Kurapika stood up and took a deep breath. It was time to start a new life, but a disturbing question kept tugging at her mind persistently and Kuroro was not there anymore to supply her with his answer which he usually gave her with that characteristic smug expression of his.

Kurapika narrowed her eyes and shook her head slowly as if attempting to rid her minds of all thoughts concerning the raven-haired man. They had said their goodbyes—or to be exact he had said his—and they had agreed they would leave each other alone forever. She was going to keep her words, since she knew that he would do the same as well.

Now back to the question that had been bothering her about starting a new life, Kurapika looked up to the twilight sky and thought out loud:

"How?"

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__ Okay, some of you may not be happy with the ending of this chapter, but relax, people. This is not the end YET. There are still two more chapters to come before I close this 1001 Nights story. Whether or not a sequel is to be issued afterwards, it will be entirely up to your reviews and suggestions. So, better give me a piece of your mind and suggestion before that fated day come. Anyway, the 'how?' question at the very ending is a 'how do I start a new life' question—just to make it clear before you all start asking me the same question in your reviews. And again, remember: your REVIEWS will determine the ENDING and SEQUEL of this story._

_**Next: **__And so Kurapika and Kuroro really did part ways, but it left Kurapika wondering on what she would do next now that she had lost the reason of her living. She had not expected, however, to have the truce broken in less than one year—accident or not._


	30. Chapter 30: The 1001st Night

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own HunterxHunter (nor will I ever in the near future…)_

_**Story so far: **__In the end, both Kurapika and Kuroro really parted ways despite their mutual reluctance. However, was that really the end of their interactions? Who would expect that their truce would be broken in less than one year?_

_**WARNING: **__This is another EXTRA LONG chapter, as requested by __**-X-Takoyaki-X-**__._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 30**

**_THE 1001ST NIGHT_**

_**

* * *

**_

"Hey, girlie. How about a casual date tonight?"

_No._

"I'll treat you for a nice dinner. Are you interested?"

_No way in hell if that's an excuse to ask me out._

"You know, I think we are made for each other."

_Really? I think I'm made to put the misery out of you so bug off before I do just so._

"Hey, Kurapika. I like you. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

_Nope, sorry. Not in a million of years._

Honestly, she had no idea on why men kept accosting her. She was not gorgeous; she was just a plain girl with soft blonde hair and fair skin. There were others girls and women out there with blonde hair and fair skin who were billions times prettier than her, so why her? Also, she was FLAT-CHESTED—for goodness' sake—and her body lacked the voluptuous curves that most men desired from a female.

Kurapika was getting tired of it—no, she was completely _sick_ of it. She had been changing jobs for God-knows-how-many-times-already since the first time she ever applied for a decent job. The reason had always been the same: first she was harassed by her bosses or colleagues, and then she ended up punching the light out of them when her fuse blew, and eventually it was either she quitted on her own volition or she was fired for violence.

Or was it her personality? It that was the case, then all guys around here were nuts beyond imagination. The best behaviour she had put in front of her male colleagues was that of an indifferent, distant co-worker. Nothing more. Were they attracted by her indifference? Insane people...

"Kurapikaaaa~~"

_Oh, sweet Jesus. Here's another royal pain in the butt..._ Kurapika whimpered inwardly, but outwardly she kept a thoroughly composed and cool facade.

"Yes, boss? Can I help you with something?"

Her boss grinned widely, thinking that the girl was in a good mood—which was a grave mistake on his part. He inched closer to her, and she shunned further away from him as obviously as she could.

"Oh, sure thing. You can help me by accompanying me to the Moonlight Bar tonight."

The corner of Kurapika's mouth twitched.

"Y'know which one, right? It's the one near the office," said he as he reached out to hug Kurapika's shoulder but the girl deftly dodged it.

Assuming that Kurapika was not pleased with the offer—which was again a very wrong assumption—he re-thought of his strategy.

"I'll treat you this time, how about it? Not a bad deal, eh? Whaddya say?"

Again, he reached out his fat hand to touch her shoulder, but with the agility of a professional Hunter, Kurapika dodged it and fully faced her moustached boss with a vein already popping on her forehead. The fat manager of her department had repeatedly asked her to go out with him with so many varieties of excuses that she wondered on why he had not utilised those brain cells he used to flirt with women for his work. If only he used his brains more for his work than to shamelessly courting equally brainless women, the company would have prospered more than it already did.

"Aw, c'mon, Kurapika. You are such a hard girl..." He tried again while putting a supposedly-warm-and-friendly smile; which turned out more like a walrus grin with his huge moustache.

Unable to take it anymore, Kurapika brandished her ring-bearing hand and waved in front of the man's lecherous face. She was about to give him one of her best excuses to get out of troubles from men.

"Sorry, but I'm _married_."

Her walrus boss looked shocked as he looked at the onyx-silver ring.

_Good! Finally..._ she thought with a sigh of relief.

"So if you will excuse me—" she said as she turned to walk away, but was stopped as a lumpy hand grabbed her wrist.

Furious, Kurapika whipped her head around to glare at him, but she was even more surprised to find the fat walrus man of her boss giving her an excited smirk.

"Aw, c'mon girlie..." he started. "You still look sooo young. 'Sides, your husband ain't here, right?"

Her eyes expanded in size exponentially.

_Is he trying to make me commit some marriage affair or what?_

Kurapika decided that it was a very bad mistake to tell her boss that her 'husband' was away on overseas business trip. Then again, because her 'husband' was really non-existent, she could not give out any other more convincing excuses for his constant absence.

Walrus boss started to pull her towards him, and that was it. Kurapika's internal alarm for 'personal space invasion' rang and she balled her hand into a strong fist and was about to landed it to the man's moustached face when another hand stopped her.

She turned around, and was immensely relieved to see her 'saviour'.

"Sorry, sir. But I'm afraid that she really is unavailable tonight." Leorio said politely with his hand firmly encircled around Kurapika's wrist, in case the girl was still itching to punch the life out of the walrus man.

Kurapika's boss was dumbfounded when he saw Leorio's imposing height. Standing next to each other, Leorio and her boss looked like the number '10' size-wise—1 for Leorio, 0 for her fat boss.

"You see, she has to attend to her nephews and they are quite the handful, you know?" Leorio continued, and then put a hand on his chin. "Well, she may reconsider it if you are willing to babysit them yourself."

"W—well I can assign someone to look after them!" Her boss chirped hopefully.

"Oh, that won't do. She really loves her nephews and so she won't entrust them to strangers. Right, Kurapika?" Leorio rewarded her with a knowing smile.

"Of course!" Kurapika said with pretended indignation.

"Then, if you'll excuse us. I have to bring her to their nephews."

With that, Leorio took her by her shoulders and shepherded her out of the building, leaving Kurapika's dumbstruck walrus boss alone. Once they were outside, Kurapika heaved a very relieved sigh.

"You saved me again, Leorio. Thanks." She said with tired yet sincere voice.

"Anytime." Leorio shrugged lightly. "But this is already the—what, tenth?—time that that particular boss of yours tries to harass you. I'm surprised you are still putting up with him."

"The payment is worth dealing with that lecher." She merely stated.

"But Kurapika... What if something happened to you when I'm not around? Or when Killua or Gon is not around to help you out of that kind of trouble? You sure you're okay? You're not stressing yourself silly, are you? You know that you are really liable to stress, Kurapika. Maybe you need a vacation?"

A vein throbbed on Kurapika's forehead.

"Oh, Leorio, for GOD'S SAKE! Stop nagging at me like some Mother Hen! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Don't treat me like a fragile."

A few metres away from them, on top of a tree branch, two teenagers were stealthily observing the whole commotion. Killua had the mischievous grin on his face, while Gon looked sympathetic towards Leorio.

"Geez, that O-san never learns his lesson, doesn't he? Kurapika's not his girlfriend and he's still sticking around her like some vultures." Killua smothered an amused laugh.

"Killua, you're so mean. Leorio is just concerned about Kurapika, like we do."

Killua rolled his eyes at Gon's innocent reply. When would he start to grow up into a decent male?

"But Kurapika, I'm just concerned about you! You're a gi—"

"SO WHAT?" She screamed at him, almost ruining his eardrums. "So what if I'm a girl? Combat-skill-wise and experience-wise, I have plenty more than you, Leorio! You know what I've been through for the past years!"

That got Leorio to wisely zip his mouth close.

"This is why I don't like being a girl… Everyone treats me like I'm so delicate…" Kurapika muttered fiercely as she walked away, seething mad.

"Sheesh! Kuroro never treated me like thi—"

She stopped her furious rambling. Why was she comparing her present situation with the time when she was still travelling with the Spider Head? Why was she comparing Leorio to Kuroro? Kurapika felt downright guilty for it. Leorio did not deserve to be compared to Kuroro—it would only put the doctor-to-be in a pathetic light. They were from different worlds, of course it would be unfair to compare them.

But still…

Kurapika sighed tiredly.

"I guess I really do need a vacation."

* * *

"Senritsu? I'm already in town. Where are you?"

_[I'm on my way there. I will reach the town soon.]_ Came the reply from the other line of the phone.

"Ok. I'll meet you in the Inn. You know which one, right?"

_[The Prancing Pony Inn, correct? The one you told me about?]_

"Yes, that one."

The Prancing Pony Inn. It was a place that she had come to consider as her new home. For almost two years she had been going back and forth this place with Kuroro as they collected the Scarlet Eyes from all over the world. When that mission had been finished, Kurapika had found herself going back to that inn. Fino's place had been the first thing that came to her mind when she pondered on where to settle for the time being.

Oh, her friends did offer to let her stay with them, but she had strictly declined the offer. After all, they were all MALES, and she was a female. No matter how close they were to each other, it would be prudent and wiser for a girl not to stay in an apartment full of men (well, it was actually a barely-out-of-teenager guy and two more teenage boys—definitely not men enough).

Fino, of course, had been more than happy—jubilant even—to receive her in her household. Her parents had not objected either. Thus she was allowed to stay in the inn for free as long as she helped around with the chores when she was not working ("You work for your food, you know?" the innkeeper had good-naturedly told her, no offense intended).

_[By the way, Kurapika. Are you really sure you want to come along with me in my search for those pieces of 'Sonata of Darkness'?]_

Kurapika laughed. "I'm dead sure, Senritsu. Just consider this as my training. If I don't train, my skills will get rusty and considering my situation, I need to be in my top form at all time."

By situation, Kurapika was referring to her status as the last Kuruta alive.

_Yeah, I'm in desperate need for training. The way I am now, I won't last long in this world, _she told herself with rather critical tone.

She looked at the scars on her hands; a memento from her frenzied fight against Kuroro Lucifer. Every time she looked at those scars, she was reminded again and again about how powerless she had been before him at that time. Well, he was brought up by a medusa and grew up in Ryuusei-gai since he could remember, while she had spent most of his childhood in the safe bosom of her hidden village in mountain. It was just as to be expected.

_Excuses, excuses…I'm just simply too weak._ Kurapika clenched one hand and narrowed her eyes. _Especially now after I've lost my—_

Her thought was interrupted as she noticed the crowds gathering at the entrance of the Prancing Pony Inn. The people looked nervous and uneasy, and it made Kurapika frown. The people of that remote town were generally peaceful and easygoing. What had happened to make them so agitated and nervous?

_[Kurapika? What's wrong?]_

Kurapika had simply forgotten Senritsu the moment her gaze landed on some men in black who were standing guard at the entrance of the Inn. She recognised the uniform—the mafia.

With her cell phone still in calling mode and in her hand, she blended with the crowd and asked around on what was going on. The townspeople told her that a bunch of shady men had stormed into the Inn and practically kicked everyone out of the building except for the owner and his family.

Suddenly, a gunshot could be heard from inside the building. Without thinking any further—the safety of Fino and her family was top priority in her mind—she barged into the Inn after knocking the guards outside with ease. The moment she stepped into the building, however, she felt a mixture of feelings washing over her.

She was mortified, shocked, surprised, AND frighteningly calm at the same time.

Kurapika knew that sooner or later Nostrad would discover her.

"Nostrad." Kurapika said with glacial voice as she graced her ex-boss; who was sitting leisurely on one of the chairs in the hall, with cold stare.

"Ah, Kurapika. It's been so long..." Nostrad said lightly with his arms extended like wings.

The said girl cast a quick glance at the surrounding. Two men had the innkeeper and his wife as hostages; with guns trained to their heads. Another of Nostrad's dogs had Fino in his arms; his strong arm encircled around her delicate neck and was perfectly capable of breaking the thin neck with one easy twist of his arm. A gun was pointed to her temple, the nose of the gun kissing her temple. The innkeeper and her wife looked more concerned of Fino than themselves, and Fino's face was absolutely paper white. Kurapika could see the great relief on her face the moment Fino saw Kurapika, but Kurapika grimaced as she was painfully aware of the slim chance getting out of this trouble completely unscathed.

"What do you want?" She asked Nostrad flatly.

Nostrad raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, Kurapika. You are a bright fellow. Surely you know the purpose of me coming here just to see you?"

"Just to see me?" Kurapika spat those words. "You are here to take me as the last living Kuruta."

"See? I know that you already know. Then, down to the business. You come with us willingly and they will be spared from pain. Simple, no?"

"What are you going to do with Kurapika?" Fino asked with small, trembling voice while her eyes were full with pure horror.

"What, indeed? Well, perhaps I can keep her as a prized artefact in my mansion. Or perhaps..." Nostrad gave a downright evil smirk. "Even better, I can auction her."

Kurapika gave a condescending snort.

"In desperate need of money? Too bad Neon lost her abilities. But I'm happy for her. At least now she won't be her father's mindless tool for climbing the social ladder." Kurapika hissed.

Nostrad's previously composed feature contorted into an enraged one and he slammed the table and stood up abruptly in fury. Kurapika berated herself for losing her cool and pushed the wrong button of that man. No matter what, it was irrefutable that she was at the disadvantage—and now she had just toppled it down to the worst.

"You're asking for it!" Nostrad cried out. "Kill that gi—"

"WAIT!" Kurapika yelled. "I'll come with you but don't you harm any of them." She snarled fiercely.

Nostrad smirked triumphantly at Kurapika's surrender. His shoulders visibly relaxed and he turned back to his composed self.

"Very wise and kind of you, Kurapika. Boys, get her."

Before Kurapika could react, she could feel the electricity numbing her senses and nerves. Before long, she was out like a light. When she fell over, two men were standing behind her with a stun gun in his hand.

"KURAPIKA! YOU MONSTER! YOU KILLED HER!" Fino screamed tearfully as she trashed around in her captor's arms.

"Oh, keep quiet, girl. She isn't dead. She's better off alive than dead to me." Nostrad then turned to the innkeeper and his wife. "I will pardon your ignorance since you are living in this pathetically remote town, but I'm sure you should know that you don't want to make an enemy of a mafia clan, correct?"

The innkeeper nodded his head vigorously. Of course he had heard of those dirty scums of the mafia that were like pests in prospering cities. Personally he was glad that his town was such a simple one that no mafia clan would ever be interested in even paying it a visit.

"Good. I will station my men here until my business with Kurapika is done." Nostrad announced as he walked away. It was a safety measure to prevent any mutiny from Kurapika—he was going to use the family as leverage to gain Kurapika's cooperation.

Unbeknownst to them, Kurapika had dropped her cell phone when she had been stun-gunned, and the phone was still in calling mode. Carelessly, they had not bothered to pick it up or even inspect it. The whole conversation had been overheard by a certain someone with peerless hearing.

* * *

"Kuroro, what's in your mind?" The wizened woman asked the young man before her with critical eyes.

The said man was fixing his gaze to a certain direction to the horizon with a slight frown creasing his forehead. He looked as if he could see what was happening on the other side of the globe.

Just a second ago, he felt a constricting feeling in his chest that he had instinctively looked up and gazed to that particular direction he was looking at. His Nen was rippling restlessly with him. He had a nagging bad premonition that something nasty was going on, but he absolutely had no idea on what it really was. He was no far-seer, after all.

Dismissing that fleeting uneasiness as mere distraction, Kuroro turned back to Hatsubaba.

"Nothing."

Hatsubaba snorted loudly.

"Not convincing."

"Are you going to tell me the reason of you summoning me here or not?" Kuroro asked with bored tone.

"We are low on funds." Hatsubaba finally answered with an annoyed huff. _Arrogant brat, _she thought.

Kuroro frowned. The old woman was not telling everything. "Is that all?"

Hatsubaba looked at him and gave him a measuring look.

"Actually, no. There's something else—"

Before the witch-doctor could finish her sentence, Kuroro's phone rang. With a nod of her head, Hatsubaba gave him the permission to answer the call—though Kuroro was not planning to wait for permission from the Elder anyway.

"Yes, Shalnark?"

_[Danchou, hot news! There'll be another big auction!]_ came Shalnark's excited-as-per-usual voice from the receiver.

"Details?"

_[Venue is Lutetia. Time is Saturday midnight, 25__th__ of September until 30__th__. It's one week from today.]_

"Items?"

_[Umm...Danchou, the list of items is not disclosed. It's Lutetia auction we're talking about.]_ Shalnark said.

Kuroro raised an eyebrow. If Shalnark put his efforts into it, he would surely be able to hack into the database of the Lutetia auctioneers and hosts and got his hands on the list. This time, the young Spider seemed reluctant to do that.

"True. Gather everyone in Lutetia on 22nd of September. Rendezvous point is a building called Valence-en-Brie."

_[Valence-en-Brie...Heard of it before...NO WAY! That haunted house?]_

"Reportedly haunted." Kuroro corrected. "People will naturally avoid the place, and so it's perfect for our meeting place."

Kuroro rarely used the term 'hideout' with reason that it sounded low-class. He preferred words like 'headquarter' or 'rendezvous point'. Thinking about vocabularies, it reminded him of a certain Kuruta girl with colourful vocabularies she would often used when precisely describing anything. The most notable of such occasions that he remembered was the time when she had been comparing the Genei Ryodan with the Mammon. She had amusingly used terms like 'standard protocol', 'haphazardly crude and unsophisticated methods'.

_[Danchou?]_ Shalnark's voice pulled him back to reality.

"That's all. Any questions?"

A pause. An unusually long pause from Shalnark.

_[Nope.]_

Kuroro narrowed his eyes. Shalnark was hiding something.

_[Then, I'll see you in Lutetia? 22__nd__ of September, Valence-en-Brie? Okay, bye Danchou.]_

And he hung up.

Kuroro's frown deepened. Shalnark sounded so eager to leave the conversation with him; which was highly odd for the young Spider. Also, he was being rather less informative than usual. The Shalnark he knew would ramble on about information he found from the virtual world that Kuroro had to be the one to stop him. Kuroro made a mental note to interrogate Shalnark later.

"You are going now?" Hatsubaba asked with even voice; all her emotions hidden beneath that wrinkled ancient face of hers.

"Looks like your prayer for more funds has just been answered," was Kuroro's only reply.

Without sparing any further words, he turned his back to her and began to walk away. The hunched woman only stood silent where she was standing as she observed the young man walking away with such dignity that a normal Ryuusei-gai citizen would not possess.

Hatsubaba sighed tiredly and looked up the gloomy sky of Ryuusei-gai.

"What a distant attitude. Poor boy... Denying himself of his need and desire. You tell your boy that it's not healthy, Ishtar."

* * *

"Okay, let's just hope Danchou doesn't suspect anything." Shalnark muttered as he pocketed his cell phone. He turned to the small woman next to him. "What now?"

Senritsu was not paying attention to the younger Spider. She was looking at the surrounding with mortification. Scattered all over the place was the bodies of the Nostrad goons that had been stationed in the Prancing Pony Inn to keep the owner-family hostage against Kurapika. For some reason, Shalnark had opted to killing them without any bloodshed. The place was unnervingly clean and it bore no evidence that a massacre had just occurred some minutes ago.

The small woman had been able to pick up the audio details of Kurapika's abduction by the Nostrad, and she had rushed to the inn with hope that she might be able to somehow save her. However, when she arrived at the place, Kurapika was already gone and the goons had been taken care of by Shalnark singlehandedly. The easygoing Spider simply said that he had promised Fino to drop by that day and it just happened that they had not been treating her and her family nicely when he came. So he had decided to take matters into his hands.

_As expected from a Ryodan member, huh?_ Senritsu thought with slight shudder.

"Are you listening?" Shalnark poked her shoulder lightly to gain back her attention.

"Oh, I'm sorry. What now? Oh, yes. I'll contact Gon and the others, see if we can come up with something. If we manage to tell Kurapika that the family is no longer held hostage, she may be able to escape and we'll help her."

"Nope, won't do. The mafia will be hot on her heels, and she'll have to live a fugitive life for the rest of her life. It's almost impossible to escape the mafia's dogs unless you are people like _us_."

" Right..." Senritsu's shoulders slumped upon hearing Shalnark's opinion. It made sense. She then gave Shalnark a curious look. "How do you think your Danchou will respond when he knows of Kurapika being one of the auctioned objects?"

Shalnark scratched the back of his head.

"That's a tough question. The old Danchou wouldn't have cared less about it, but since they've been travelling together for almost two years previously, now it's hard to predict him when it comes to Kurapika. It's either: one; he totally ignores that fact, saying that it's part of their agreement to leave each other alone, or two; he orders us to annihilate the whole Nostrad clan."

"Both don't lead to promisingly good results." Senritsu grimaced.

"Well, we are the Genei Ryodan." Shalnark gave her a toothy grin.

"Shalnark!"

Fino's voice came from the other end of the hall, and she was dashing towards him with a worried-sick look on her ashen pale face.

"She doesn't know that you are a Genei Ryodan member, does she? No, does she even know of the Genei Ryodan?" Senritsu asked with slight accusation; the girl looked like someone who could be easily duped.

"Oh, she does." Shalnark answered cheerfully. "And that answers both of your questions."

* * *

Kuroro looked around the building with slight nostalgic feeling blooming within him. It had been years since the last time he visited the so-called haunted Valence-en-Brine house. It still looked the same as before, with only thicker layers of dust as the minimal change that ever occurred.

The meeting had been over just a few minutes ago, and the other Spiders had decided to explore the country. Lutetia was a small city state that was famous for its luxurious lifestyle. It was never a waste of time to spend hours exploring the city down to its nooks and crannies.

However, there was one Spider that he had prohibited from leaving the premise for the time being. Reason was that particular Spider needed a bit of interrogation.

Shalnark was fiddling with his toes as he stood few metres away from Kuroro. He looked like a child who was caught red-handed while pulling some pranks. Kuroro had persuaded—or rather, _ordered_—him to spill out whatever secrets he was hiding.

He finally sat down on one of the ancient Victorian-style chair and his gaze landed on Shalnark; who was still staring to the not-so-interesting wooden floor of the old house.

"I see now why you are so enthusiastic with this mission. I assume Fino coaxed you into this?" He finally spoke up with light voice, not upset or whatever else about being 'tricked' by Shalnark.

"She _forced_ me into doing this." Shalnark corrected with slight pout.

"How did she do that?" Kuroro asked with pure curiosity. To think that a common, simple girl like Fino could bend a Spider like Shalnark into submission, he definitely was eager to know about it.

"Don't try to change the subject, Danchou." Actually, Shalnark was trying to avoid that subject. "What about Kurapika?"

"Her involvement in this event is of no consequences to our mission." Kuroro stated deadpan with expressionless face. "As per my agreement with her, we will leave each other alone."

"But Dan—"

"However," Kuroro cut him off before Shalnark could protest further, "if she is listed as one of the objects to be auctioned, then she is one of our targets. It is as simple as that."

At first Shalnark was confused with Kuroro's words. The gears in his brains were virtually cranking as he tried to process Kuroro's simple words—it was always like that, he would use simple words in a complex sentence structure to explain complicated matters; which in turns would make them even more confused. When he finally understood what he was implying, Shalnark's face was as bright as the summer sun.

He gave his Danchou a silly grin, which was responded with a thin smile from the raven-haired man. But then, there was another issue that he had yet to understand.

"Then the plan?"

"We will proceed with our original plan. There will be no changes."

"But how—"

"Everything is in order, Shalnark."

With that kind of finality in his voice, Shalnark could not help but to zip his mouth close and swallowed any protests he had. Silently, the younger man exited the room with slight disappointment for not being let in Kuroro's most intricate plot. Kuroro was left to his peace in the dimly lit room. He sat like a stone statue, his gaze boring at the dark corner of the room while he outweighed the probable consequences of his actions. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Kuroro shifted in his seat and took out his cell phone number.

"Really... You are definitely a magnet for troubles." He muttered to nobody in particular while dialling a certain number.

Once the line was connected and his call was answered, before the receiver even had the chance to say "Hello?", Kuroro spoke up:

"_Voi avea nevoie de ajutorul vostru_ (I will need your assistance)"

* * *

"Is this really the place?" Gon asked nervously as he looked around the place.

"I'm positive that this is. Look at those people, Gon. They are obviously filthy rich. Why else will hundred of sinfully rich people gather in one place that looks more like a lecture hall of my university but to participate in an auction?" Leorio rolled his eyes and carelessly took a random seat.

They were all dressed up in formal suit and had somehow managed to purchase tickets to attend the auction. Senritsu had chosen not to go for fear that she might get spotted by Nostrad's men and they might suspect that some rescue plan had been planned. Imitating Leorio, Killua flopped down on the seat next to the older boy, while Gon sat down next to Killua like a goody-two shoes he was. A few minutes passed and the three spent their time observing the place and the people. They were racking their brains trying to find out any ways to get their Kuruta friend out of trouble, when a voice dissolved their concentration.

"Do you know of the difference between the Yorkshin auction with Lutetia auction?"

It was a question that came from the man sitting next to Gon. Gon was utterly shocked out of his life—he had not noticed the man taking a seat next to him! It was as if the man had just appeared out of thin air. Killua abruptly stood up the moment he laid his eyes on the raven-haired man.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded with rough tone.

"As a participant of the auction, obviously." Kuroro answered him airily while not looking their way.

"Do you know that Kurapika is going to be auctioned here?" Leorio asked in low whisper.

"I do."

"Then you are here to save Kurapika?" Gon questioned him hopefully.

"Hardly so."

Gon's shoulders slumped in great disappointment.

"So," Kuroro started again. "Do you know the difference?"

The three exchanged quizzical look to each other and rewarded the Spider Head with wary glance.

"I only notice that there is no catalogue sold about the items to be auctioned." Killua answered while searching for answer in Kuroro's face.

"Correct. Lutetians love suspense and thrills. They feel that it will be more exciting if they don't know about the auctioned items beforehand. That said, of course they will need proper planning and strategies if they want to secure good items without losing too much money. Because of that very reason, host of the event is more likely to reap more profits from Lutetia auction when the correct strategy is employed."

"What kind of strategy?" Gon asked with pure curiosity in his voice.

Kuroro turned his head a little to give Gon a measuring look.

"See for yourself, and learn." He simply told him, and he would not say more than he already did regarding the system of the auction for the rest of the event.

Then, the auction began.

Or rather, for them it ended as soon as it started.

A thin man in black suit suddenly sprung to the stage from the backroom. He was pale as a sheet with cold sweats running down his temples. He began yelling a certain question at the audience.

"Is there a doctor here?"

Loud murmurs erupted among the audience.

"Someone is dying! Is there a doctor here?"

Leorio's first instinct as a medical student was to spring to his legs and shouted "I'M A DOCTOR IN TRAINING!", but his concern with Kurapika made him throw a hesitant glance at his comrades—who were also looking at him with lost eyes. Kuroro was not helping at all. All he did was to sit in silence with a blank mask of indifference plastered stubbornly on his cold visage.

"Leorio, go. We'll handle things here." Gon finally spoke up.

The older boy could only nod in nervousness and did as his instinct had screamed at him for the past minutes. Kuroro watched as the young doctor scurried his way to the backstage.

Everything was going along smoothly as planned.

* * *

"Where is the patient?" Leorio had asked hastily the moment he stepped into the backroom.

He was very eager to finish whatever medical business that needed to be attended there, so he could go back to his friends in anticipation of somehow rescuing his Kuruta friend. His eagerness, however, died down the instant he looked at the lifeless body on the floor.

It was a young woman with delicate golden hair that had grown long during the last few years of her chaotic life. Her body was twisted into strange angle—the others had obviously dared not to touch it. Her skin had an odd bluish discoloration, and her eyes—they were still in their blue hue—were wide open with a blank stare. Her tribal attire announced her identity: a Kuruta.

Leorio's knees shook and almost gave in, but he forced himself to kneel self-consciously before Kurapika's limp body. He checked for pulse, he found nothing. Her pupils were already dilated, and her skin was as cold as any corpses could be. Taking her body to the hospital for verification of death would be unnecessary. He was sure she was already as good as dead in that very moment.

"What happened?" He softy asked to nobody in particular.

One staff answered him with nervous, trembling voice. He said that the girl had been stiff and pale, and her breathing had been slow and shallow. She had complained of stomach-ache and headache, but she stumbled with her words as if she had difficulties talking. When she tried to stand up she just suddenly collapsed to the floor as if her legs had no strength, and before long she started having a kind of seizure. Soon enough, her whole body became paralysed, and the next thing he knew, the girl was already a goner.

"Sounds like tetrodotoxin poisoning… Did she, by any chance, eat a puffer fish or the likes before?"

"N, not that I'm aware of…" The young man answered with small voice.

Leorio could only sigh and look at his dear friend's cold body. He could not believe it. The Kurapika he knew had been so resilient and tough to break. Where on Earth did she get the poisoning? Did somebody attempt to assassinate her? But for what? She would not harm anybody without reasons. Well, maybe she would attempt to harass her captors once she was free for some paybacks (boy, how the girl really knew how to hold grudges), but to provoke some assassination attempts? Suicide, perhaps? No. That was impossible. She was too proud to commit such cowardly act.

Leorio could not think of any other plausible possibilities.

"Is she dead?" A middle-aged man with moustache asked him.

"Huh?" Leorio turned to address the gruff man, and noticed right away that it was none other than Nostrad—Kurapika's former mafia boss and her present captor. He then cleared his throat and tried to sound as professional as he could. "Oh. Yes, I'm positive of it."

Nostrad narrowed his eyes in great displeasure. It made Leorio gulped—did he say something wrong?

"Her eyes are blue, correct?"

Leorio frowned in confusion. What did that have to do with the whole thing?

"Um... Yes, they are. May I know why you asked?"

Nostrad snorted loudly.

"Well then we have no need for her. If her eyes have been scarlet, we can still harvest her eyes, but since she died without her Scarlet Eyes, she's worthless." The man in black suit only shrugged indifferently and turned around with a dismissive hand.

"Of course, sir." His attendant nodded with a smirk on his face, and turned to the other bodyguards in the room. "You heard the boss. Somebody clean up the body."

Leorio stared at them with disbelieving eyes. His eyes continued to be glued to the door in which Nostrad and his attendant had used to exit the room. He could only react when one incredibly tall man approached Kurapika's body and hauled it over his shoulder.

"Hold on! Let me take care of her!" Leorio demanded.

"No. I have my orders to follow." The man said with steely voice.

"No, no, please! I know them!" Leorio grabbed the man's sleeves, and was regarded with a piercing stare from the man—not a glare as he had expected.

"Listen, _doctor_." The man said sharply, and lowered his sunglasses a bit to reveal his uncannily grey eyes. "I am to dispose of her body and that's that. _Afterwards_, whatever you want to do with it, I don't give a shit about it. Okay?"

Leorio froze.

The man readjusted his sunglasses and Kurapika's limp body on his shoulder, walking away from the room briskly for some 'garbage disposal', as termed by some other staffs. Leorio still had his eyes to the door where the tall man had disappeared into.

He knew that voice. He knew that accent. He had heard it before.

He knew those grey eyes. He had looked into those eyes before.

* * *

"Leorio, what happened?" Gon asked curiously once Leorio was back to his seat among the audience of the auction.

He could not answer Gon. He sat down and tried to work on what had actually happened in that backroom. He could only reach the conclusion that Kuroro Lucifer—who was still sitting next to Gon with passive face—had something to do with the whole affair. He was sure of it, if that man with grey eyes was present in the scene.

"Gon, can you switch place with me?" Leorio asked wearily.

"Huh? Sure…" Gon complied without further arguments and let Leorio occupied his seat while he moved to Leorio's previous seat.

Killua spared Leorio a questioning glance; which the older boy responded to with a mouthed 'Later'. So Killua asked nothing. Once seated next to the 'dangerously fickle' man—as Leorio once termed Kuroro—Leorio tried to sit down in the most comfortable way before began questioning the much older man.

"Where are you taking her body? I saw that guy—what's his name? Lucian?—taking her away."

"Relax. She is not dead." Kuroro answered aloofly. "You will see her in due time."

"In due time?" Leorio frowned deeply, before he hissed to him belligerently. "What do you want from her this time?"

"You will eventually see her whole and in good condition _if_ you play by my rules. Is that understood?" Kuroro asked flatly with eyes still glued to the podium.

Leorio wanted to protest, but judging from the quality of air that Kuroro Lucifer was emitting, he knew better than to go against the Spider Head. If Kurapika stood no chance against him; as she had told them, then Leorio only had negative chance against him. So Leorio gulped hard and nodded begrudgingly.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU FREAKING INJECT INTO ME, YOU LUNATIC VAMPIRE?"

The moment Kurapika had woken up from her temporary death, she had been beyond livid.

Back then when she had been in the backroom of the underworld auction of Lutetia—she had been kept separate from the other auctioned goods—one of the guards had approached her and pricked her arm with a very fine needle. The sting was nothing to her; it only felt like she had been bitten by an ant. She only glared at the man irritably, and the man only responded with a knowing smirk. Dismissing the notion only as some pranks pulled by the dead-bored guard, Kurapika minded it no further. Only when she started having severe stomachache, headache, and finally convulsions, did she realise that the prick had not been a prank.

"Hey, you should be grateful to me, not shouting to my ears in attempt to break my eardrums! I gave you some drugs to clinically fake your death." Lucian retorted from behind a table that he had toppled down to be used as a shield against Kurapika's wrath.

When he had gone for 'garbage disposal' earlier, he had brought her straight to the Valence-en-Brine house and then 'revived' her. He had to strip off the outer layer of her tribal attire; leaving her only in her thin sleeveless undershirt and long pants, to inspect the extent of the damage inflicted by his 'poison'. The very first thing he received when she had been lucid enough was a magnificent slap across his cheek.

"And what are the ingredients EXACTLY?" She glowered.

"Erm… Modified tetrodotoxin…"

"TETRODOTOXIN? YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME FOR REAL!"

"And that's why it's modified. Geez, let me finish first!" Lucian protested, but nonetheless still kept himself safe behind the table he had been using as a buffer between him and the fuming mad Kuruta. With a huff, Kurapika crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Continue." She demanded with low snarl akin to a predator's.

"Um…Other primitive ingredients such as charred and ground bones, some human remains, toxic resins, calcium oxalate crystals, frogs, centipedes, sea worms—"

"OKAY, OKAY! STOP!"

Kurapika slumped in her seat and put a distressed hand over her sweating forehead. She felt a very strong urge to vomit.

"Oh. Geez. Thanks!" She snapped. "That's a long list of gruesomely disgusting things you have forced into my system…"

"_Ne pare rau, dar nu poate fi ajutat ..._ (sorry, but it can't be helped)" The vampire muttered almost inaudibly.

"And how did you revive me?"

"CPR."

"WHAT?" Her roar shook the room mildly.

"Just kidding." Lucian grinned guiltily. "I used my self-made drug containing Antimyasthenics to restore your motor strength and some other stuffs."

"Some other…stuffs?"

"Alpha adrenergic agonists for your hypotension, Anticholinesterase agents, some monoclonal antibodies against tetrodotoxin, some potassium channel blocker agents, and others. All modified." He shrugged.

_Okay, at least they sound safely medicinal…_Kurapika breathed out a relief.

Lucian rummaged through his pocket and soon enough he threw something small to Kurapika's direction. Out of reflex, Kurapika caught whatever was thrown her way with one hand.

"I managed to salvage it." He informed her vaguely while hoping that he could mellow her down.

Kurapika opened the palm of her hand and found herself staring at her onyx-silver ring—the ring that Ishtar had given to Kuroro and then was exchanged with her aquamarine-silver ring. Feeling a strange immense relief in her heart, she put the ring into her ring finger, feeling the familiar cold touch of the silver ring adorned with lone onyx stone. She then fingered it absentmindedly. She recalled being told that she must not part from that ring for the rest of her life as the consequence of receiving Ishtar's blood.

"I see that you survive the ordeal, Lucian."

A voice spoken coolly and almost amusedly came from the direction of the door. Kurapika and Lucian turned their head to see Kuroro standing by the doorstep with his hands buried into his pockets.

The vampire; who had looked like a thunder-stricken rabbit, gave a happy yelp of "Lucifer!" and hurriedly got away from his precious buffer—the table—and practically hid behind Kuroro.

"How was the auction?" Lucian asked as felt a whole lot safer from the Kuruta's vengeful reach.

"Nothing special." Kuroro shrugged.

Of course there would be nothing special. His Spiders had been duplicating all the auctioned goods with Coltopi's Nen skill, just like during the Yorkshin auction. As Kurapika was kept separate from the others, only Lucian—who had posed as one of the new guards—could gain 'access' to Kurapika. That was the plan of the mission.

No. Actually there was another extra mission for his Spiders.

* * *

"What did Danchou say?" Machi asked to a certain sandy-brown haired young man.

"An extra mission." Shalnark chirped as he pocketed his cell phone. "Simple and clear: eliminate the Nostrad clan."

"I knew it." Phinx grinned.

"Piece of cake." Feitan snorted as he flexed his hands.

"You don't mind, Nobu?" Franklin asked the samurai standing next to him. "You know that this has something to do with the chain-assassin, right?"

Nobunaga only frowned slightly and shrugged.

"It's Danchou's order."

"Yeah, of course. It's _Danchou's order_." Phinx snickered in playful mockery.

"Shut yer trap and let's just be done with this!" The short-tempered samurai exclaimed.

"Okay, okay. Geez..." Phinx muttered as he started revolving his arms in preparation for a little 'party'. "Here we come, Nostrad. This is what you'll get for harassing Danchou's woman."

Nobunaga only grunted in response to Phinx's statement but did not refute it.

* * *

"Heh, I thought so." Lucian; who knew of that extra plan, gave a low chuckle and sauntered towards the door, but not before he patted his shoulder and teased him: "_Am curăţat dormitor pentru tine._ (I have cleaned up the bedroom for you)_ Distreaza-te cu 'sotia' ta. _(have fun with your 'wife')"

Before Kuroro could give him a rib-crushing elbow, Lucian made a mad dash to the door and slammed it shut. It left Kurapika stunned and clueless as she understood nothing of what he had just said, but Kuroro looked slightly perturbed by the vampire's words. It was as if his words reminded him of something troubling yet pleasing.

After a few minutes of silence, as both were assessing each other, Kurapika finally broke the silence.

"What do you want now?" She was practically barking the question at him.

Kuroro raised an amused eyebrow.

"That is not the nice way of greeting your 'husband'." He commented with airy voice.

Kurapika stared wide-eyed at him.

"How—"

"Your Zaoldyck friend told me about it willingly."

_Killua, the next time you see me you are oh so dead._ Kurapika glowered inwardly, but kept a straight face in the outside.

Kuroro approached her with deliberate steps, and she stood her ground firmly. When he was right before her, the first thing he did was to reach out and gently fingered her blonde hair. This gesture took Kurapika slightly aback.

"You keep your hair long." It was more like a question than a statement.

"So what?" Kurapika retorted, yet she did not make a move to swat away his hand from her hair. Without her noticing, a pink tint was making its way to grace a faint blush to her face.

Kuroro gave a faint smile. So the girl remembered his comment from long time ago, when she was fussing around about getting a haircut:

_...but long hair suits you better._

It pleased him so much that he spent the next few minute simply twiddling with her golden strands of hair. To his surprise, Kurapika had not made a word of protests. Usually she was so particular about people toying with her hair.

"So our truce is broken." He said in a rather absentminded fashion.

"What are you suggesting?" She asked cautiously as she backed away from him.

He smirked. "You are always attracted to troubles, aren't you?"

"No, it's the other way round. Troubles are attracted to me." She huffed as she remembered the very unpleasant times of getting flirted and harassed by some uncouth men.

"You know, technically you belong to me since Nostrad has disposed of you and I have claimed your supposedly-dead body." Kuroro took a seat down and leaned back in his chair.

"Oh, really? Why, thank you for enlightening me." She snapped, her voice laced with thick sarcasm.

Kuroro raised an amused eyebrow.

"You aren't in the best mood, are you?"

"Why should I be in my best mood when a certain friend of yours, who MUST HAVE lost a few screws of his head, almost poisoned me to DEATH and all the while I was lucid when everybody was announcing that I'm a goner?"

"That will be the best way to get you out of that situation." He shrugged.

"Faking death is really your favourite, isn't it?" She frowned unhappily at him. "Twice you faked my death, and I just hope this time they won't discover that I am still alive _again_."

"You were under their 24/7 surveillance and when you suddenly dropped dead because of poisoning, they have no choice but to believe that Kurapika Kuruta is really dead, correct?"

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes, tired with the pointless argument. "So what now, I'm your belonging?"

"Sort of." That irritatingly smug smile returned to his face—oh how she wanted to scratch them off his begrudgingly handsome face.

"So what do I have to pay to buy my freedom, _Master?_" She supported her weight with one leg and folded her arms defiantly. "But one thing for sure, if you ask me to be your Spider, I'd rather die."

"The thought never crossed my mind." He clasped his hands and regarded her with even eyes, those obsidian orbs never once revealing the intention he hid beneath those darkness.

"Then? Spill it out so I can deal with it fast! The sooner, the better." She huffed. "And for your information, I have nothing material to offer you."

"Is that doctor your boyfriend now?"

Kurapika literally gawked most unceremoniously when the question left Kuroro's lips and reached her ears. She even forgot how to blink. Why in the blazes did the man suddenly ask such an irrelevant, trivial question? It had nothing to do with the whole situation at that moment. Knowing his fickle nature, for she had dealt with it for roughly one and half year in constant term, Kurapika chose to respond than to scold him for it—scolding him was equal to wasting her breath.

"NO." Her voice was more forceful than she had intended it to be. "And—"

She paused.

"_And why do you bother about it?"_ had been what she intended to ask, but then _again_, knowing Kuroro Lucifer, the man shunned away from 'why' questions the most. Suddenly, an idea popped in her head. She was not sure it was a good idea, though.

"And do you have any girlfriends, by any chance?" She asked coyly.

Kuroro raised a quizzical-yet-suspicious eyebrow.

"Why do you ask?" He finally asked rather cautiously.

Kurapika snorted a laugh. "Apparently, _you_ start asking more 'why' questions now."

Kuroro responded with a wry smile. "You are a bad influence."

"Me? Oh, _please_!" Kurapika laughed and rolled her eyes at the same time.

She then sauntered towards him with deliberate feline grace; as if she was doing some catwalks, stopped in front of him and leaned forward slightly with one hand on her hips. She rested one hand on the support of the chair since she knew that this _game _was going to stretch long.

"How old are you, Master? I suppose you are closing to 30 now?"

"29, to be precise." Kuroro answered, deciding to play her games.

"And you are still a bachelor." It was more of a question than statement.

Inside, Kurapika's heart raced. She knew that she was walking on dangerous ground—provoking the Spider Head was definitely highly risky—but she could not help it. Why she was doing what she was doing was also beyond her comprehension. She just felt compelled to do it.

"Yes. Does that matter to you?"

"Not really. I'm just wondering if everyone in your gang is single." She smiled in shy-pretence.

"Shalnark won't be soon." He informed her.

"Oh, that's old news to me. I live with Fino, _F.Y.I_." She smirked triumphantly.

"I'm surprised that you don't go out with that doctor friend of yours." He countered.

"Oh, he did ask me out, but I turned him down." She shrugged.

"Reasons?"

"Do you need to know?"

"Humour me."

"I am not your entertainer."

"You _are_ my property now."

Kurapika was losing the game; he knew it, because she finally straightened up and looked away uncomfortably. She looked irritated and offended because of his use of 'property' word, but mostly she was uncomfortably with the context of their silly game.

"He's just more like a brother to me, nothing more." She finally answered reluctantly in whispery voice.

"You are 20, correct?"

"Yes."

"That's a marriageable age. I assume you do intend to preserve your Kuruta bloodline. The doctor is a good option."

"Are you trying to coax me into marrying Leorio? Forget it, Kuroro. No matter how opportunist I may be, I am not going to use him that way. Besides, I don't want to marry someone whom I don't love."

"You don't love the doctor?"

"I do love him in a sibling-kind love. Are you paying attention?" She snapped irritably.

For a moment, Kurapika forgot that Kuroro was 'psychologically unsound', as Lucian dubbed it.

"Then do you have someone in mind?"

"Yes."

The answer slipped from her mouth before she could even rein it. Recklessly, she clasped her mouth with a hand, indicating clearly that she had said something that she was not supposed to say out loud—like a child caught saying a secret she had promised to keep. Kuroro's raised his eyebrows in curiosity and amusement. He straightened up in his seat while Kurapika turned away from him completely, giving him the whole view of her back.

"Who?" He asked huskily.

"None of your business!" She snapped, but still refused to face him.

"Who?" He asked again.

"I said it's none of your business!" She yelled.

"I am entitled for an answer and you are obliged to answer, Kurapika." He said sternly.

"Since when am I obliged to cater to your every whim?"

Along with her scream of indignation, she spun on her heels and threw her chain at him. He could have easily dodged it, but sensing something odd from the chain, he decide to catch it; Chain Jail or not. Once he had the chain in his hand, he knew he was right. The quality of her Nen that the chains emitted was different. He frowned at her.

"What happened to your chain?"

Kurapika visibly paled.

"What do you mean?" She asked with strained voice.

"Something is missing from your chain." He said, fixing his gaze to Kurapika's aquamarine eyes, searching for an answer.

Suddenly, Kurapika's face gave the impression like all her previous strength had evaporated. She looked like someone who had been utterly defeated and was left in the dirt. She dematerialised the chains.

"The Nen blade in my heart disappeared. I can no longer produce any Nen chains of equal strength. I'm still trying…"

Her voice quavered slightly and there was something akin to shame in her voice. She hugged her small frame with her thin arms.

"Since when?" His voice was considerably gentler.

"Since the day in the Kuruta village." She answered with small voice. "Since we parted ways." _Because I have no more desire for revenge..._ She added to herself.

They fell into an awkward silence. It was very rare for _them_ to get an awkward silence. Kurapika inhaled deeply and soundly, before she spun on her heels and dared herself to fully confront Kuroro. She looked straight into the obsidian orbs of his eyes—they were bottomless abyss of darkness, but she knew those depths of his eyes all too well.

"Now what?"

There was a dangerous glint that flashed in those eyes, and for a fleeting moment Kurapika was stunned. Suddenly, those eyes became oddly unfamiliar. There was this predatory look in those usually cold, emotionless eyes.

Slowly and surely, as if adding into the tension that Kurapika was already having all over her being, Kuroro got up from his seat and took one step to her direction. She took one tentative step back instinctively.

"As mentioned before," he started, his voice low.

His pace towards her was steady, while her pace away from him was rather uncertain and confused.

"You are my property now, so you will have to stay by my side," he continued, pausing for a while before adding, "not necessarily as my Spider."

"What then?" She asked unsurely, not understanding what he was hinting on.

He did not answer. She had backed away until her heels hit the side of the bed and thus her escape path was blocked—unless she opted to climb the bed to cross it, unbecoming-of-a-lady as it was but if it appeared to be necessary, she would do it anyway. Somehow, Kuroro was being awfully dangerous to _her_. It was as if he could leap at her and tear her apart anytime soon. There was something animalistic about him at the moment.

Even as she had stopped, Kuroro continued his advance. He only stopped until he was a mere inch from the said girl. So close he was to her that she could catch a whiff of his familiar scent. Kurapika's brain was already shouting: _PERSONAL SPACE INVASION! WARNING! UNAUTHORIZED BREACH OF TERRITORY! _

Kuroro leaned forward until his nose almost touched hers. His eyes were staring—no, they were boring—straight into her eyes. Kurapika desperately tried to hold her ground and glared back at him, though she could physically sense her courage wavering. As Kurapika threw another tentative glance to the bed—suddenly the idea of crossing the bed seemed very tempting and of good sense to her—Kuroro raised a finger and poked her chest right under her collarbone with just enough power to make her stumble and fell into a heap to the bed.

Falling onto the bed as gracelessly as possible, Kurapika for a moment was disoriented but once she regained her sense of balance, the only thing she saw was Kuroro's face in dangerously close proximity from her own. His elbows were rested on the bed right next to her head, and one knee was used to support his weight on the bed.

"You will have to buy your freedom." He simply said.

Kurapika gulped soundlessly.

"L, like I said," she started with a stutter—which was very rare of her, "I have nothing material to offer you."

Kurapika imagined that she might look exactly like a thunder-stricken frightened rabbit at that moment. She had never been afraid of him, except for that very moment. Still holding her wrist firmly in his iron grip, Kuroro leaned further so that he could whisper right to her ears.

"There is something you can offer me in exchange of your freedom." He stated huskily to her ears, giving a pleasant tingling sensation she had always felt every time his skin touched hers.

"Which is?" Kurapika dared to ask, but her voice sounded pathetically weak.

"Don't play _fool_, Kurapika." He said again, his voice mockingly amused. "You _know_ what I mean."

She was already stiff, but soon she turned into a stone statue. The moment he had stepped into her personal space, her minds had grown numb and she was unable to think clearly. Honestly, her brain was virtually dysfunctional. Her lack of response made Kuroro frowned in slight annoyance.

"Do I have to spell it out?" He asked.

"Please do." She whispered.

Kuroro chuckled darkly and whispered, "No. Figure it out yourself."

He could literally see her expression taking a deep dive from stunned to profound horror and disappointment; which amused him even more. Knowing that she would need quite some time until her brain cells started functioning fully and properly, Kuroro decided to change _their_ position.

With one swift movement, he took hold of her slender waist and hoisted her up. Kurapika gave a strangled gasp as she suddenly found herself wrapped in his arms, while he sat on the bed with his back against the flat bedhead attached to the wall.

"Take your sweet time." He whispered to her ears, his warm breath brushing against her soft skin.

She shuddered involuntarily, making him smirk. While Kurapika had yet to recover from her shock, Kuroro lowered his head until his lips brushed against her bare shoulder at the bottom of her neck. He could feel Kurapika stiffening in his hold. He moved to bury his nose in her hair, catching her characteristic scent he had somehow memorised. After _a bit_ of exploration, he decided to settle his head on her shoulder while waiting for her to digest the whole situation _and_ the answer to her own question: what could she offer to him in exchange for her freedom?

It was so damn obvious.

Kurapika scowled at herself for not realizing it sooner. Now she felt utterly dumb.

Sensing the sudden movement from her, Kuroro deduced that she had finally attained some 'enlightenment'.

"So?" He breathed out against her delicate neck.

To his surprise, she relaxed considerably in his arms and even sank further into his embrace. Quizzically, he tried to take a look at her expression. At the same time, Kurapika leaned to her side and twisted her head so that she could stare into his eyes. The moment their eyes met, silence ensued.

"You decide." He finally said, with their mouths dangerously close to each other.

"Do I have the choice in the matter?" She snapped in utter annoyance.

"You only have no choice when you don't give _yourself_ a choice." He simply responded coolly.

What he wanted to say was that he would not do _it_ unless she gave her consent. Kurapika, being the intellectual person she was, caught on to that underlying message and gave him a smirk. Even until now, he still respected her and her decisions. How flattering.

"Exactly."

Then they eagerly and passionately closed the gap between their lips.

* * *

Distant away, leagues away from Lutetia and from a certain 'haunted' house, an exotic-looking woman was plucking her Oud. It was an Arabic string instrument that always accompanied her wherever she went, with the exception for the short journey with Kuroro and Kurapika in finding the Deifri Ifrit. While plucking absentmindedly, her gaze wandered to the stars in darkened heaven above while her mind wandered to a distant memory.

"Weaving another tale?" Came a male voice.

Scheherazade scowled as her train of thoughts was rudely interrupted. She tore her gaze from the dark night sky and fixed them on the man with platinum blond hair and dark ochre skin. His face was as grim as ever, but his eyes told otherwise.

"The most recent tale." She agreed as she plucked at her Oud more purposefully. Then, she began to sing softly; her voice as husky as the night breeze,

_O gentle moon and glittering stars,_

_Hear my request,_

_Witnesses to this story worthy of 1001 nights, you are_

_So now be my witness as I retell the story_

_Of 1001 nights,_

_Wherein a future is written over murky pasts,_

_Where on the 1001__st__ night, _

_Two souls reach consummation_

_Of the bond they forge_

"1001 nights, huh? Has it been really 1001 nights since the first time they started their journey?" The spider incarnation cocked his head to a side as he crossed his arms, trying to calculate the number himself.

"So the stars tell me. But if you will just allow me to finish..." Scheherazade said with annoyed voice.

"There is a continuation?" Anansi frowned.

She gave him a mystifying smile, before she continued her song:

_But are those 1001 nights sweet dreams?_

_Or are they nightmares?_

_

* * *

_

When Kurapika opened her eyes the next morning, she felt strangely cold. When she looked around, the space next to her was unoccupied. Giddily she sat up and pulled the blanket to cover her naked form. Her body was sore all over, but somehow she felt strangely...satisfied. She glanced around and noticed a paper bag placed on the table, with a note next to it and a ring to hold the note in place.

Rather lazily she peeked into the paper bag; it contained her clothes, both casual and tribal. She remembered those tribal outfits as the ones she left in Nostrad's place prior to the Hassamunnin incident. Gingerly she picked the ring and examined it. It was the Solomon Ring. Kurapika frowned and suddenly her heart grew numb. A bad premonition filled her heart and she deliberately slowly picked up the note and read it. It was painfully short and clear.

_You will need its more protection more than I do, since you are such a magnet for troubles. I'm lending it to you._

Although there was no name on it, she knew who wrote the note. She recognised his handwritings—which she had seen countless times before. Her hand turned weak and she let the note slipped delicately from her fingers. It landed on the floor soundlessly, while Kurapika had temporarily forgotten how to breathe.

She was left all alone.

After a few interminable minutes, she could virtually hear Kuroro's voice speaking in her mind:

_You will need its more protection more than I do, since you are such a magnet for troubles. I'm lending it to you._

Kurapika's mind started to work.

…_lending it to you._

That phrase could only mean that they would have chance to meet each other again. Of course. The world was surprisingly small. Kurapika clutched the ring in her hand. When she chanced upon that man again, she would return the ring. Until then, she would keep it.

With the reassurance that they would cross path again—which she did not understand why she was so relieved with it, or more precisely she _chose_ not to understand it—Kurapika straightened up her posture and readied herself to embrace an entirely new life before her.

Though gloomy as it seemed.

* * *

Kurapika had immediately retreated into the sanctuary of the lush greeneries that surrounded Lutetia. She did not feel like meeting people yet. She preferred the company of Nature during troubled moment such as this.

She was still deep in her reverie when the soft muffled sound of hoofs alerted her. She looked up, and a distance away from her was Una, standing in her full Unicorn glory. The Unicorn had seemed to grow more since the last time Kurapika saw her. Kurapika quickly got up to her feet as Una approached her with steady pace.

"Where have you been?" Kurapika asked, her voice tinted with worry and longing. She had missed the Unicorn so badly. "I couldn't find you anywhere since the Kuruta village."

_Una didn't tell you, but Una has her reasons. Una went back to Chiron's forest._

"Chiron? That old centaur?"

_Yes. Una was looking for wisdom, and Una found what Una sought._

Kurapika could not help but to smile gently. Even when Una had matured, she still preferred to use the third-person style of speech. How adorable of her.

"That's good. I'm glad for you." She said sincerely. "What are you going to do now?"

Without faltering in her steps, the Unicorn continued to say:

_Una is coming with you._

Kurapika frowned slightly at this.

"Did Kuroro ask you to or is it on your own volition?" She would not accept charity. If Kuroro asked the Unicorn to accompany her, she would decline it.

_Una chooses you._ The Unicorn simply answered.

Kurapika gave her a heartfelt smile. The Unicorn had no idea on how grateful she was to Una's words. She approached the Unicorn, intending to pat her, but stopped halfway as something dawned to her head. She halted into an abrupt stop, and Una cocked her head sideways in confusion.

_What's wrong?_

"I guess now I can no longer get too near to you." Kurapika said with sad voice. "Since I'm no longer…"

She could not continue with her words. It made her felt ashamed and low. She felt so horrible about herself—to think that she had sold her body in exchange of her freedom. How more condescending could it be? Then again, she had no choice, right?

No. She had chosen it herself.

_You decide, _he had offered her.

_You only have no choice when you don't give yourself a choice_, he had reminded her.

Yes, that was what she had wanted. That had been her choice. Now she simply had to bear with the consequences. But a new question came: had it been out of passion or pure lust? Had she fallen in lust with him? The mere thought disgusted her to no end, but everything had already happened. There was no going back to change it. One thing for sure, though; she had been foolish to think that the man would not leave her afterwards.

As Una digested the meaning of her unfinished words, the Unicorn took a deliberate step towards the Kuruta. In full awareness, the Unicorn thrust her head to Kurapika's side, careful not to injure her with her horn. Kurapika was absolutely flabbergasted.

"U—Una? I thought—"

_We won't die when we touch impure things. We'll only get disowned by the tribe, banished as a renegade Unicorn._ Una explained with carelessness in her voice, as if she had not cared a fig about being disowned.

Frankly speaking, she had already been disowned since her foal days. What difference would this make now? Nothing.

When Una drew back her head, Kurapika then noticed something different with her. Then, in less than a second, she noticed the stark difference. Her golden horn had turned obsidian black. It had the colour of a black metal, shining rather sinisterly under the dim light of dawn.

"Your horn…?" Kurapika muttered with horror-filled voice.

_Black horn is the mark of a renegade Unicorn._ Again, Una explained with the uncaring attitude.

"Oh, Una. I'm so sorry…" Kurapika stroke Una's cheek gently, feeling remorse eating into her heart for 'tainting' the Unicorn.

_Don't be. They can disown Una or whatever else for all Una cares, but Una has chosen you over them. Una's decision is final and now there is no turning back. _The Unicorn said firmly and full of confident.

"Will they hunt you down?" Kurapika asked again, her voice still small.

_No. They will assault Una verbally, maybe, but not hunting Una down. They couldn't care less about renegade Unicorns. As long as we stay out of their ways, they will leave us alone. _

"I see…" Now she felt more reassured.

The more she thought of it, the more she felt very grateful to the Unicorn. Now that she was officially dead—supposedly, if Kuroro's calculation of faking her death had been right—she could no longer live as previously. She might have to make fake ID, but that was too troublesome. After all that had happened, she preferred a quiet life now.

When she took one step out of that abandoned house, she had braced herself to face the world alone, but then Una had come her way and 'degraded' herself into a renegade Unicorn so that she could accompany Kurapika.

Suddenly, she had a lot of options on how to live her life. She could travel the world with Una. She could go back and visit Fino—the girl was very trustworthy and she had proven it many times over—from time to time. She could even make the Prancing Pony Inn her temporary home, if the owners allowed her to—which she was pretty sure they would since she had saved Fino's life a few times already. As for jobs, she could learn and do new things. Perhaps became a scholar or researcher? She had always had things for discoveries and knowledge, after all.

Suddenly, everything took turns for the better. Her life seemed to have a promising prospect.

"Hey, Kurapika! And Una, too!"

A familiar voice broke her train of thoughts and she turned her head to find herself being confronted by her three loyal friends. Gon and Killua were making a game out of 'who can get to Kurapika's place first is the winner' and she knew that the bet had been all about chocolates. Leorio, on the other hand, was yelling:

"We've been searching all over for you! Where have you been?"

Yes, and she had her loyal friends as well.

"Sorry to make you worry. I…have just taken care of some matters." She said softly.

Gon was the first to reach her and after exclaiming "I win!" and getting a "Damn!" from Killua, the boy looked at her with great eyes, as if he had just looked at her for the first time after so many years. Suddenly, a big smile bloomed on his face.

"You seem to be finally at peace, Kurapika." He stated.

Kurapika raised an eyebrow, truly surprised to hear that. "Really?"

She felt a slight pang of guilt in her heart. Truthfully, she had not really been at peace—not after she realised that she had sunk so low as to trade her chastity for her freedom. However, she was not going to tell her friends that. At least not yet.

Gon nodded vigorously, happy that his troubled friend had finally found her peace somehow. He then turned his attention to Una while Killua; was not as simple as Gon was, looked at Kurapika with careful eyes as his brains worked to deduce something. With Kuroro's statement of 'you will eventually see her whole and in good condition if you play by my rules' and Kurapika's state now, something had to have happened last night.

"Did you settle everything with that man?" He finally asked.

He had his own suspicion, but he wanted to hear it from Kurapika's mouth directly. Kurapika turned to look at him in the eyes. She was slightly surprised that Killua knew, but it did not bother her at the very least. Despite Killua's searching gaze, she did not avoid it. Somehow, she felt that there was nothing to hide, yet it was something that she simply wanted to keep for herself.

"Yes." She merely answered, but elaborated no further.

"How so?" He asked further.

"Killua." She said firmly, and Killua could not help but to notice the subtle finality in that voice. "That is not of any concerns anymore."

She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. She listened to the voices of the wind, feeling the gentle breeze of the morning. At long last, her heart felt really light, though she had been so despondent just a few minutes ago. It was the first time after so many years of haunted life. She felt so free. When she finally opened her eyes, she looked at her three friends with steady eyes.

"It's over."

The wind blew past them, as if agreeing with Kurapika's statement. There was a silence among them, but there was no awkwardness in it.

"Then I reckon that this calls for a celebration?" Leorio grinned at her with his usual silly grin.

"Really? That's great! I just found a nice restaurant, we should try—"

"Now, now, calm down, Gon. Let's discuss it first!" Leorio ruffled Gon's spiky hair roughly while pushing him forward. They then began walking back towards the direction of the city.

Kurapika gave Una a hesitant glance.

_Una will wait here. Enjoy your celebration with your friends,_ she simply said with gentle tone.

"Thanks, Una." Kurapika hugged Una's neck, before she caught up with her other friends.

As Leorio and Gon bickered about food and other trivial matters, Killua followed behind them with Kurapika next to him. As sunlight fell upon them, Killua caught something glinting from the corner of his eyes. He turned to look at the source of the glint, and noticed it coming from Kurapika's fingers. When he looked closely, he noticed another ring beside her onyx-silver one was sitting on her middle finger.

"What's that?" He asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, this?" Kurapika lifted up her hand and let Killua had a closer look at her ring. "It's a compensation gift from Kuroro."

"Compensation?"

"Yes. For all troubles he has dragged me into."

She would not say anything more about the ring, troubles and compensation she had fleetingly mentioned. Killua was dying to know more but he did not push his luck. He knew that once Kurapika decided not to reveal anything, she would never spill it. Her stubbornness might just shame other mules.

Kurapika Kuruta was ready to embrace her new life; one that was free from the nightmares of her past. She was not aware yet, however, that the night in that deserted house was the beginning of a new journey for her.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__For trivia, Lutetia is the old name of Paris. Wonder of wonders, Fino is aware of Shalnark being a Spider and she seems totally fine with it. Quite something, isn't she? Oh yeah, a cute pun from __**Florallover**__: Shalnark + Fino = Shark Fin Soup. I find this very adorable. It didn't even cross my mind. I'm such an ignorant author =P And yeah, just so you know, actually there is a part that omitted from this chapter. Make a guess on what I omitted XD And so, I guess this chapter opens up a whole new speculation among you reviewers. Tell me what you think of it XD Btw, do u think Kurapika's choice is wrong? Should she really feel bad about it? Maybe you'll begin terrorizing me to explain how they end up...well...spending a night together, but their reasonings and feelings that led down to the decision will be further explored in the sequel. I promise! So don't start criticizing me with flares, flames, or the likes till I want to die YET. Everything's been planned, people. But is this kind of romance too corny or shocking? I think some of you maybe shocked out of your life by now. Now the last chapter will be an epilogue. So guys, your second last call: REVIEWS will determine SEQUEL. Also, tell me of what you think of 1001 Nights as a whole story. It'll be an honour to me to know what you think of this story. _

_**Next:**__ Epilogue – A few years passed without Kurapika ever chancing upon Kuroro, and vice versa. Everyone thought that things had gone back to normal before the whole Hassamunnin binding fiasco happened. However, things were just about to get merrier. _


	31. Chapter 31: Epilogue

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own HunterxHunter (too bad…)_

_**Story so far: **__Kurapika decided to start her life anew, while Kuroro resumed life as it had been before he was bound to Kurapika by Hassamunnin's magic—with the exception of Ishtar's absence and some other issues. A few years had passed since their last meeting in Lutetia, and things were going to be merrier. _

_**Author's (apologetic) note: **__I know some of you—if not most of you—were somewhat disappointed with how Chapter 30 turned out (despite me indicating that everything would be explained in the sequel). Sorry if I disappointed you. To make up for it, I've done an extra story '**Half Empty Glass**'. It's about the missing chapter of the one-year gap between chapter 29 and 30. Rated **M** for 'something'. Read it and after that tell me in your reviews if I've downgraded into a crappy author or not, or if I've ruined the whole 1001 Nights fic or not T_T_

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_**EPILOGUE**_

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It was a peaceful morning in the Hunters Association Headquarter building. The entrance hall was quiet and tranquil. The light penetrated through the glass wall of the building, giving a heavenly atmosphere to the hall. The air felt sterile, though it was rather chilly for most people's taste. The hall was deserted, with the exception of the receptionist—who was already dozing off—and two more Hunters who appeared to just about to leave the place.

One was a lean man with dark tanned skin and coal black hair. His dreadlock hair was pulled into a ponytail, making him looked wilder than normal people. While his face was relatively clean of battle scars, his bare chest—which was poorly covered by his tattered leather vest—carried those scars with pride. His companion was a golden-haired girl who was tall for someone her age, and she looked so delicate that nobody would expect her to be a Hunter at all.

"Who's your target this time?" The girl asked her fellow Hunter friend casually.

"An elusive group of criminals, all of them S-rank criminals." He answered with excited tone that reminded her so much of Killua and Gon when they were faced with challenge, but Kurapika interrupted him before he could elaborate any further.

"Are you, by any chance, referring to the Genei Ryodan?"

"Why, yes!" The man blinked at her accurate guess.

Kurapika frowned at him.

"I strongly suggest that you don't hunt them if you value your life."

"Why? Because they are too strong?"

Kurapika rolled her eyes heavenwards and sighed. Sometimes, some people simply overestimated their own capabilities.

"They are _beyond_ your league, Cash. Ask Bashou about it, he will know how to describe it. He had seen one of them in flesh years ago, though he didn't confront him directly."

Cash clearly looked offended and displeased by Kurapika's opinion about him. Kurapika sighed again.

"Look, Cash. It's not like I underestimate your capabilities as a blacklist Hunter, but I have had my own fair share of encounters with them when I was still working as a blacklist Hunter. From those experiences, I can recommend any of my colleagues or confrere not to accept any hunts related to them. I suggest you drop this mission at all, otherwise you'll only be delivering your life to death."

"How did you manage to escape them alive, then?" He countered heatedly, still unwilling to believe in Kurapika's testimony.

Kurapika gave him a lopsided smirk of irony.

"Only by the grace of the God."

Kurapika then walked away from his towards the entrance-cum-exit door of the Hunter Headquarter building.

"I have given you my advice, Cash. Whether or not you accept it and take it into consideration, it's entirely up to you. Your fate lies in your hands and decision." Kurapika said over her shoulder.

_Yes, it's only by God's grace that I am still here..._ Kurapika smiled to herself as she pondered about her own words._ Though not necessarily despite the dangerous encounters with the Spiders. On the contrary, even. I'm alive because of them._

Five years ago, the moment she stepped into the premise of the Prancing Pony Inn, she was rewarded with a bone-crushing embrace by a tearfully jubilant Fino. She refused to let go of her even as Kurapika was saying: "Can't...breathe..." She then insisted that Kurapika told her everything that happened while she held captive by the mafia. The Kuruta told her of what she did know of from the point of her abduction to Lucian's meddling with the whole affair. She had omitted one part of the story though—she was most reluctant to tell it to anybody else. It would be her secret.

Then, to her immense surprise, Fino shoved a newspaper to her face and made her read it. Kurapika's eyes widened exponentially as she read the article. It was about the mysterious death of the whole Nostrad clan. The people had seemed to be brutally murdered but there was no further elaboration on whether the authority was doing anything to track down the murderers or not.

In her heart, Kurapika knew that it was the Genei Ryodan's doing. And if the Lutetia government was as sensible as the Yorkshin government, they might have closed the case once they knew the culprit was Ryuusei-gai's Genei Ryodan. All reasons of murder pushed aside, the government would not want avoidable clash with the infamous group of S-rank criminals.

Kurapika had laughed dryly then. She knew that she was the reason of the elimination of the Nostrad clan. No doubt that Kuroro deemed it necessary enough to wipe out the people with knowledge that she was the last Kuruta alive from the face of the Earth. It was downright inhumane and sadistic, but what she could do? What had been done was done. There was nothing that could change that fact. Deciding to let the matters slipped without unnecessarily fussing about it too much, Kurapika never mentioned about it anymore.

If anything, she ought to be grateful to Kuroro's prudent decision. After all, he had spared her from a fugitive's lifestyle.

* * *

The bright orangey red light of the sunset washed over the vast area that contained nothing but unwanted items from all over the world. Machinery, clothes, food, tools, and even babies, were cast away to this place; making a mountain of them.

The Scavenger Ground in Ryuusei-gai was akin to a harvest ground for the people of the Ryuusei-gai. It was the place where the citizen made their earnings—gathering the leftovers of the outside world and utilising them for whatever they might be useful for. Because of this, the people of Ryuusei-gai were exceptionally creative in their survival skills, but more often than not their methods were see as abnormal by the outside people.

_An abnormal land that produces abnormal people_, as often quoted by people who knew of the Shooting Star City.

In truth, there was no other statement more accurate than that quote, as the city was really led by a Medusa who once had been a Goddess. The citizens themselves were none the wiser of this face, except for some special people who were allowed the dark secrets of the city. This abnormal city also gave birth to the abnormal group of S-rank criminals; the Genei Ryodan.

At this very moment, the leader of that infamous Genei Ryodan was sitting on top of a fallen structure in the Scavenger Ground, in the most remote part of the area. He sat facing the falling sun, watching it like a hawk observing its prey. His jet-black coat billowed around him as the strong gust of wind of the Scavenger Ground danced around him.

He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly as he watched the sky tinted deep red by the sunset. He remembered that hue of colour.

_Just like six years ago, in the Kuruta Village..._ He told himself.

"Did Hatsubaba harass you again with her naggings?"

Another figure leapt to the top of the structure where Kuroro was sitting on, but he did not sit down. He merely gazed at the sunset, admiring it as his companion did. He folded his arms across his chest and waited for any answer from the raven-haired man. His black shoulder-length hair danced along with the strong wind. His glassy grey eyes reflected the bright orangey-red colour of the sunset, those undead eyes giving off a very eerie light.

"The same argument, over and over again." Kuroro admitted, accompanied with a tired sigh, without looking at his vampire companion.

Lucian chuckled darkly and said nothing further about that matter. He came all the way to Ryuusei-gai to make life harder for his friend, but not by pestering him about Ryuusei-gai matter. No, he was there to bug him about other things.

_The finer things in life..._ He smirked to himself. Ah, how he liked the sound of it.

"I'm surprised that you even gave your Solomon Ring to Kurapika," he started. "Isn't that Ishtar's last memento for you?"

Kuroro did not respond at first, his gaze still fixed on the sun drowning into the horizon. There was a long interval of silence before he finally answered:

"She would have approved of my decision."

"What makes you say that?" Lucian challenged him.

"I am not obliged to disclose my reasoning to you, Lucian." Kuroro said with dangerously edgy voice.

Lucian gulped. Whenever Kuroro used that kind of tone, it meant his decision was final. He was not going to tell him anything, not for the lifetime of his. Even if the vampire was to prostrate before him, begging him to tell him even a little bit of his thought regarding the matter, Kuroro would not spill a word to him.

_Stingy,_ he tsk-ed inwardly but did not dare to utter it out loud. However, he was not going to give up, not yet. There were still some questions that he had to ask him.

"You know, you haven't told anyone about your reason of keeping Kurapika alive since the beginning of your journey with her."

One second passed. Then two seconds. Three. Four. Five...

"Kurapika did ask that question before, but I never gave her the answer." Kuroro finally responded with a low chuckle, as if it was anything amusing at all.

Lucian breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Kuroro was going to answer him! _M__amă-mamă! _(Romanian exclamation to express something cool or extraordinary) He felt like throwing confetti but instead he pulled a serious expression.

"Are you going to let me know?"

Kuroro did not answer him, nor did he grace him with an annoyed look he usually gave the vampire whenever he was pushing his luck. Instead, he straight-forwardly 'confessed' his reason of keeping Kurapika alive by all means.

"When I first saw her Scarlet Eyes, I simply thought 'Ah, such rare beauty, and it is the last one. It will be such a waste if it is lost to death'."

Lucian raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Feeling responsible for massacring her people? Or regret perhaps?" _That's so unlike him, _he secretly thought. "That's why you feel obliged to protect her and to not let her die? That's why you coax her not to sacrifice her life in her vendetta?"

Kuroro gave a low, humorous chuckle.

"No such thing. I have no regrets in what I have done. Besides, if I had not undertaken that mission…"

"Things won't be as complicated as they are now."

"Definitely."

"And you wouldn't have met her."

"Perhaps."

"So you keep her alive because of her Scarlet Eyes?"

"Initially that was the case."

Lucian frowned. He was getting lost. Was he the dumb one or was Kuroro the complicated one? Definitely the latter.

"Over time, what happened?"

Kuroro stayed silent for a while, sifting through his words to find the most suitable explanation for the change of circumstances that had occurred six years ago.

"She is simple yet complex. I wanted to study her, to know more about her."

Lucian gave a soft laugh.

"Apparently, too much of knowledge isn't too good, either. Your curiosity brought about your own eventual demise."

"Demise? I hardly perceive so."

That simple word made Lucian frowned deeply. He then sat down next to Kuroro and gave him a critical eye. He tried to search for some kind of answer or revelation from his visage, but neither his expression nor his eyes betrayed anything that he kept hidden within the personal sanctuary of his mind and heart.

_La naiba cu tine _(Damn you_), Isthar. Because of you, Lucifer is very hard to read._

"If you are so fond of her, they why did you leave her?" Lucian asked carefully while articulating his words slowly.

Kuroro gave a mirthless, dry laugh. He then looked up and gazed at the twilight sky. The sunset had completely drowned beneath the horizon and now all that was left of the surrounding was pale darkness that would darken sooner than later. Kuroro lifted his hands and covered his mouth with it, an old habit that probably might never get cured for the lifetime of his.

"If I stay with her, she might break apart. Karma is such a fearsome force." He finally answered, his voice low and almost solemn.

Lucian regarded him with a dumbstruck, astounded look.

_I don't see the logic in that,_ he thought. _Psychologically unsound, you really are._

"After all these long years of knowing you, I still don't know whether you are a compassionate or a ruthless person, a genius or a madman." Lucian shook his head in disbelief.

"Is that a compliment?"

"_NU ESTE! _(is not)" He felt like pulling his hair now. He jumped to his feet and looked down to Kuroro with intense eyes. "Seriously, ever since you left _fată_ (girl), you are kind of screwed up in the head, do you know that?"

Kuroro only smiled.

"Be a bit responsible, will you? Have mercy on her."

"Since when do you start spouting words of wisdom?"

"Well, forgive me for my usual lack of content and weight in my daily conversation." Lucian said with dead voice. "Anyway…I really think you should pay a visit to Kurapika. No. I strongly urge you to do so."

Kuroro gave him a questioning look.

"Reason being?"

Lucian gave him a toothy grin.

"That is for you to find out."

* * *

A lone figure was walking down the deserted corridors of a harbour. Her spiky dark blue hair danced along as the wind ruffled it. She ignored her surroundings; nice and tranquil as they were, focusing only on the turbulence she had in her mind and heart.

Machi of the Genei Ryodan was troubled. So was Shalnark. And so was—very surprisingly—Nobunaga. They had often rendezvoused to discuss about certain issue regarding their Danchou, but every time they attempted to bring up the subject to the man in question, Kuroro would simply indicate painfully clearly that he had no wish to be bothered with whatever concerns they had over him. It was unnervingly troubling.

The fact that the subject of their discussions was a certain Kuruta did not help or bring any consolation at all. The three of them knew very well that their Danchou had somehow changed—for better and for worse—since he left the Kuruta in her village five years ago. He had been more docile and less ruthless—that was for the better part—but he had grown somewhat distant as well—that was for the worse part. He still did conduct several missions over the years with the same, unrivalled perfection and brilliance, but that did not change the fact that these three loyal Spiders of him did notice the lost look that he would sometimes show when his guards were down for some fleeting moment of occasions.

The other Spiders did notice the subtle change, but they had not bothered to make such a big fuss over it. Those big oaf of Spiders were simply brushing aside the issue, calling it a 'withdrawal symptoms'—notably a term by Phinx—and they ungratefully assumed that their Danchou would get over it sooner or later and everything would go back to normal before the appearance of the chain-assassin.

_Like hell things will go back to normal_, Machi had thought at that time, and she still thought the same.

Machi sighed heavily. She jumped on top of the tallest container in the vicinity and sat cross-legged on it. Her cold gaze landed on the vast dark ocean that bordered the harbour.

For five excruciating years they had put up with it. Something had to be done. As she had noticed since long time ago, there was a bond forged between the chain-assassin and their Danchou, and her gut feelings told her that the bond was far from being broken. If anything, she found herself anticipating that something was bound to happen soon—be it good or bad.

_Distance makes the hearts grow fonder, huh?_ She thought with dry amusement.

It was always awkward to relate their cold, expressionless Danchou to anything that had to do with emotions. If anything, she suspected that it had become a more severe case since he parted ways with the Kuruta.

_The bane of relationship and bonds._ She snorted lightly. Not that she despised it, though. She had to admit that there was a certain bond between the Spiders as well. She had nothing against relationship and bonds, but the romantic ones? They were definitely out of her league.

Just as Machi let out another sigh, her keen eyes caught something. There were movements at one side of the harbour. Curious and had nothing better to do, Machi went to inspect it.

There were some muscular men holding a cage of some sort, transporting it from a measly boat to the most obscured part of the harbour. They did it most hurriedly and stealthily, which made Machi concludes that they were doing something illegal. Even more curious than ever, for a reason she had yet to find out—she had never given a damn about other things except for the Genei Ryodan matters—Machi tried to inch closer to the suspicious group while avoiding their watchful eyes.

Aside from her curiosity, all truth to be told, her gut feeling was telling her that she had to inspect that surreptitious operation. When she was close enough and was in a very strategic position for spying the operation, she managed to get a clear view of what was inside the cage.

It was children. Children of all ages and races; presumably kidnapped from all over the world. They most likely would be sold as child-slaves, or child-soldiers. Being a Spider and raised in the harsh environment of Ryuusei-gai, Machi only felt a tiny-wee-bit of sympathy for those children. The only difference it would make for them was that they simply had to learn their survival skills the hard way. If they survived the ordeals, they would emerge stronger and more cunning than they would ever be.

Machi was about to shrug off the child-smuggling matter and went away when her eyes caught yet another interesting thing among the children. Among those children was a boy—despite his effeminate appeareance, Machi was sure it was a boy—with golden hair.

_Golden hair..._ Machi narrowed her eyes, and a suspicion dawned to her.

There were other children with blond hair, but that particular boy caught her attention the most. She knew that face. She knew that shade of blonde hair. When she narrowed her eyes to observe the boy further, she could see his dark eyes—in the darkness of the alley of the harbour they seemed black in colour.

Suddenly, the whole clandestine operation became her concern.

* * *

Leorio was barely awake. He was still in his pyjama and was skimming through the news paper with a cup of hot coffee in his hand. Life had been good, terrific even. He was now pursuing his Master degree while working part-time as a doctor. Gon and Killua would often go for a long-term trip, still in search of Gon's crazy father. Despite the apartment housing three bachelors only, it was kept in a very tidy fashion that one would wonder how bachelors like them could maintain such neatness.

The secret lied within the fact that there was a Mother Hen who would pay a visit to the apartment once a month. She would order them around to tidy up the place, and she would often bring along an extra guest.

"Aaah..." Leorio slumped contently in his chair. "This is life..."

He was content. No more adrenaline-rush adventures that threatened to ruin his heart and internal organs. No more meddling with the underworld since Kurapika was now living a relatively normal life as a Hunter. She was pursuing a new goal as a Hunter: she wanted to do researches about other tribes around the world that were in danger of extinction like her own. She wanted to help them out if possible. While Gon's father area of focus was archaeology, Kurapika's was more of the ethnics and tribes.

Ah, talking about Hunters, all three of them had received their Single Star for their respective area—or was it Double Star for Kurapika? Gon, with his unnatural affinity with animals, had his Single Star for protecting the wildlife or something along that line. Killua, with his mad obsession for chocolates, had his Single Star by contributing something to the international confectionery industry—it had sounded so ridiculous that Kurapika and Leorio could not help but to laugh their assess off. As for Kurapika, naturally she got her Single Star—or was it Double Star again?—from helping a certain tribe from extinction. How noble of her. He guessed that she did not want any other clans to end up like hers.

Leorio himself? He was content enough with living as a doctor. After all, his goal of being a Hunter was purely because of the money to subsidise his medical studies. Nothing more nothing less.

According to Kurapika, Una the Unicorn had taken a somewhat permanent residence in the forest surrounding the remote town where the Prancing Pony Inn was. Whenever Kurapika was going off for her Hunter duty, the Unicorn would accompany her. Leorio often wondered how the Unicorn could be so loyal to Kurapika. She reminded him of some breeds of dogs that were famous for their undying loyalty to their masters.

Leorio sipped his coffee slowly, enjoying the pleasant bitter taste in his mouth but the TV news suddenly caught his attention. There, on the screen, was a reporter saying that a ragtag group of children was spotted in the city and they were scouring the forest for food and shelter. When offered help, they denied them and instead ran deeper into the forest. It seemed that the leader was one of the boys; who was barely four-years-old. They flashed the hazy picture of the boy, and Leorio could not help but to chocked on his coffee and spilled them all over the place.

"Meta?"

And then his phone rang.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__Yes, this is the real end of 1001 Nights *throw confetti* This is the first long story I ever finished. Phew... Quite an achievement for me. Don't worry guys, a sequel is in order and I'm already drafting it. Give me two weeks at most, and I'll start uploading it. I know you may not be satisfied with such short chapter, after many outrageously long chapters in the last few updates, but hey, it is an epilogue, after all. Epilogues are usually short, aren't they? Besides, it's only a stepping stone to introduce the sequel to you guys._

_And don't forget to read AND review the '**Half Empty Glass**', people! It's rated M, for your information._

_I know chapter 30 was rather crappy, and I don't want to repeat the same thing so I'll be relying on your constructive reviews to help me improve with the story for the sequel, ok? The title of the sequel will be 'Angel's Prayer'. Why is the title like that? You will find out if you read it =D_

_Oh, and for __**mio7**__, sorry but I can't fulfil all your wishes. The story's been drafted and planned since the beginning, sorry... But I hope you'll keep reading coz there'll be lots of humour in the sequel (at least that's in my opinion)_

_And for __**MARYLOVER**__, thanks a lot for all your insightful reviews throughout this fanfic. You are one of the greatest reviewers out there! XD And also thank you for __**Florallover**__, __**liza lucifer**__,__** Ongaku no Usagi**__, __**silinde-kun**__, __**ThisIsMe09**__, __**angelofdeath1119**__, __**xXxblacklilyxXx**__, __**-X-Takoyaki-X-**__, __**KuroPika X**__ and many others I can't remember, for your constant supports for me through your reviews. You guys rock! XD _

_**Sequel:**__ Angel's Prayer – Five years had passed and Machi found herself staring at the exact duplicate of Kurapika Kuruta, with only dark colour for his eyes. The little boy named Meta seemed to be related to Leorio and friends. So what kind of story did this little boy called Meta have? _


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